…Pledges to increase the number of Back to School Beneficiaries
By Damilola Akinlotan
Wife of Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Olayemi Oyebanji has hailed the First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, for always giving succour to the vulnerable and the less privileged in the society.
Dr. Oyebanji who showered encomium on Senator Tinubu for deeming it fit to send another round of palliative in bags of rice for distribution to the vulnerable (widows inclusive) in Ekiti State under her Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI) Project described the wife of the President as a “mother indeed and a compassionate woman.”
Ekiti First Lady expressed gratitude to the mother of the nation on Friday while performing the symbolic handover of some of the bags of rice to the representatives of widows’ associations in the state for onward distribution to needy widows in all the local council areas of the state.
Dr. Oyebanji said she was duty bound to disclose the source from which the consignment of rice came urging the benefitting widows’ groups to always appreciate Senator Remi Tinubu’s gesture and also pray for enablement to fulfill her lofty desires to better the lots of the less privileged in the country; especially the women and children.
“Let me start by thanking H.E. Senator Oluremi Tinubu because she is doing a lot of things to better the lots of the less privileged people in Nigeria. I must let you know that these bags of rice came from Mummy Remi Tinubu for the vulnerable members of our society.
“The matters of women and children are of utmost concern to her. So many times, l have been to Abuja taking our people to benefit from the goodies of her Renewed Hope Initiative.
“For instance, we have taken our women farmers to Abuja for support for their farming activities on the RHI platform.
Likewise, our students have benefitted from the scholarship award on the education platform of the Renewed Hope Initiative.
“These are parts of H.E. Senator Tinubu’s good works in order to give relief to our people during these challenging times.
Governors’ wives are the coordinator of RHI in their respective states, and whatever she wants to give to women, she channels it through us.
These bags of rice are from Mummy Tinubu for our vulnerable women,” Dr. Oyebanji said.
She disclosed that the distribution exercise incorporated various widows’ groups in Ekiti State.
Dr. Oyebanji noted that the people of Ekiti State have benefited immensely from the various components of H.E Senator Remi Tinubu’s RHI.
This includes Elders’ Support Programme for the elderly, where a sum of N25 million was distributed to 250 elders at the rate of N100,000 per head.
Scholarships for deserving indigent students and Agricultural Support Programme for women, among others are parts of the kind gestures that extended to beneficiaries in Ekiti by Senator Tinubu on RHI platform
According to the Ekiti Governor’s wife, the various largesse received so far from the nation’s First Lady complement the support the less privileged persons in the state have enjoyed though her Widows and Orphans Hope (WAOH) Project, Back to School Initiative and other support schemes for the vulnerable segment of the population.
Dr. Oyebanji used the opportunity of the event to announce that the number of beneficiaries of her Back to School Initiative to assist indigent pupils would increase from the 400 figure of last year to 500 this year when the programme comes on stream in August.
She gave an assurance that as long as her husband, Governor Biodun Oyebanji, remains on the saddle as Ekiti helmsman, the interest of widows would always receive paramount attention to alleviate their suffering and empower them economically.
Dr. Oyebanji enjoined the representatives of the groups to ensure that the rice is shared to needy widows in their domains. This is to ensure that the impact of the gesture is felt at the grassroots level.
A former commissioner in the state, Chief (Mrs.) Ronke Okusanya and Ekiti State All Progressives Congress (APC) Women Leader, Mrs. Caroline Egunlusi commended Senator Tinubu for her gesture and also hailed the First Lady for her care for widows and vulnerable people in the state.
Earlier in her remarks, the WAOH Coordinator, Mrs. Kemi Dairo noted that Dr. Oyebanji has been replicating what Senator Tinubu is doing at the national level, noting that “any widow that comes to her office with tears leaves with smiles.”
She urged the beneficiaries to always assist Ekiti First Lady with prayers in appreciation of the tremendous and life-changing impact of her pet project on the them.
A total number of eighteen groups including WAOH Widows, Ekiti Widows Association, Police Officers Widows Association, Para -military Widows Association, Christian Assocation of Nigeria Widows, Muslim Widows, Nigeria Women Council Widows and widow-based Non-Governmental Organizations received bags of rice for onward sharing to their members.
