Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has distributed cash support and household items to 500 market women and petty traders in Cross River State as part of efforts to support small businesses and strengthen women’s economic participation.
The empowerment programme, held on Saturday at Watt Market in Calabar, was organised through the Women Mobilisation Directorate of the APC Presidential Campaign Council ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The First Lady was represented at the event by the Deputy Director of the Directorate and former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Dr. Betta Edu, who said the initiative was designed to provide financial assistance and business support to women across the country.
Speaking during the distribution exercise, Edu disclosed that each of the 500 beneficiaries would receive ₦50,000 in cash support, alongside various empowerment items, including deep freezers, blenders and toasters.
According to her, the intervention was aimed at providing seed capital to help market women, artisans and petty traders expand their businesses, improve their livelihoods and support their families.
She noted that many of the beneficiaries operated small businesses with limited capital, adding that the financial assistance would help strengthen their trading activities and improve their economic circumstances.
Edu said the programme was being implemented across the country, with the Calabar outreach serving as the first phase of the initiative in Cross River State.
She further disclosed that similar empowerment exercises had been scheduled for Ogoja in November or December 2026, while another outreach would take place in the northern senatorial district in January 2027.
The former minister also highlighted some social intervention programmes of the President Bola Tinubu-led administration, including the Students Loan Scheme, free maternal healthcare for pregnant women and subsidised dialysis services.
She urged residents of Cross River State to support President Bola Tinubu, Governor Bassey Otu and other All Progressives Congress (APC) candidates in the 2027 general elections.
One of the beneficiaries, Esther Bassey, a widow and mother of three from Odukpani Local Government Area, expressed appreciation to the First Lady for the financial assistance.
She said the support would provide an opportunity to strengthen her business and improve her ability to cater for her children.
Earlier, Edu led members of the Women Mobilisation Directorate on a visit to the General Hospital, Calabar, where they interacted with women and children receiving medical treatment and presented them with gift items.
The Hospital Administrator, Mrs. Bassey Offiong-Effiom, appreciated the First Lady for the intervention and commended the Federal and Cross River State governments for their efforts towards improving healthcare delivery.
The initiative comes amid concerns over limited access to affordable financing for women-owned businesses in Nigeria, particularly those operating within the informal sector, where many traders depend on personal savings and informal loans to sustain their businesses.
Through the programme, the organisers said they intended to extend financial and material support to women entrepreneurs across the 36 states of the federation.