Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has unveiled an empowerment package worth approximately N12 billion for older persons and persons with disabilities across the country under the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI).
The initiative will provide N110 million to each participating senatorial district, with the funds divided equally between two programmes targeting vulnerable Nigerians, irrespective of their political affiliations.
The announcement was made on Thursday at a stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja attended by the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Chairman, Professor Nentawe Yilwatda; Senate President Godswill Akpabio; APC senators and senatorial candidates; and members of the RHI Governing Board.
According to a statement issued by the First Lady’s Senior Special Assistant on Media, Busola Kukoyi, the package comprises two programmes, each receiving N55 million to support 250 beneficiaries per senatorial district.
Under the RHI Economic Empowerment Programme for Persons with Disabilities, 250 beneficiaries will receive N200,000 each, while the RHI Elderly Support Scheme will provide the same amount to 250 older persons in each participating senatorial district.
Senator Tinubu explained that the decision to involve senatorial candidates in implementing the programmes followed consultations with political leaders on the most effective way to identify beneficiaries and coordinate the distribution of funds.
She noted that the candidates’ familiarity with their constituencies would help them identify vulnerable residents who need the support, while emphasising that political affiliation must not determine eligibility.
“We don’t say give it only to party members, but give it to your voters,” the First Lady told the candidates, stressing the need to ensure that deserving Nigerians benefit from the intervention regardless of their party membership.
She added that the Renewed Hope Initiative had previously supported persons with disabilities and was expanding its interventions, while the elderly support programme was entering its fourth edition.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio commended the First Lady for bringing serving and incoming senators together to coordinate the initiative. He urged the candidates to regard the responsibility as a public trust and ensure that the funds reach the intended beneficiaries.
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, also praised the First Lady’s commitment to vulnerable Nigerians, noting that the RHI’s monthly food outreach programme had reached 31 staktes.
APC National Chairman, Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, urged the candidates to involve party structures in implementing the initiative while ensuring that beneficiary selection was free from discrimination based on ethnicity, religion or political affiliation.
The financial support programme for persons with disabilities is scheduled for December 3, 2026, to coincide with the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, while the elderly support scheme is expected to take place on December 17, 2026.
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