First Lady unveils N110m support package for elderly, persons with disabilities

• Partners with APC senatorial candidates to ensure non-partisan distribution

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From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja

The First Lady of Nigeria, Oluremi Tinubu, has unveiled a N110 million empowerment package for elderly citizens and persons with disabilities in each participating senatorial district, urging All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial candidates to ensure the funds reach deserving beneficiaries irrespective of political or religious affiliation.

According to a statement issued by her media aide, Busola Kukoyi, the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI) package comprises N55 million each for the Economic Empowerment Programme for Persons with Disabilities and the Elderly Support Scheme. Each programme targets 250 beneficiaries per senatorial district, with each person expected to receive N200,000.

Mrs Tinubu announced the intervention on Thursday at a stakeholders’ meeting attended by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, APC National Chairman Nentawe Yilwatda, serving senators, senatorial candidates and members of the RHI governing board.

She said the decision to involve senatorial candidates followed consultations with political leaders on how best to identify vulnerable people and coordinate distribution across constituencies.

The First Lady, however, warned against restricting the intervention to APC members, insisting that deserving Nigerians must benefit regardless of party affiliation.

“We don’t say give it only to party members, but give it to your voters,” she told the candidates.

“The vulnerable in society are the people we are supposed to care for,” she added.

Mrs Tinubu said the initiative builds on her longstanding commitment to vulnerable Nigerians, noting that the RHI had previously supported persons with disabilities, while the Elderly Support Scheme was entering its fourth edition.

She said the senatorial district model was adopted after considering other channels, including state coordinators and traditional rulers, adding that the arrangement would improve coordination and public awareness of the initiative.

Akpabio commended the First Lady for bringing serving and incoming senators together to coordinate the programme, saying President Bola Tinubu had approved the arrangement.

He urged the candidates to treat the assignment as a public trust and to ensure that assistance reached intended beneficiaries. He also encouraged them to work with other APC political office-seekers to expand the programme’s reach.

Akpabio said the RHI had, over the past three years, supported displaced communities, vulnerable households and women across the country.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, also praised the First Lady’s interventions, saying the RHI’s monthly Food Outreach Programme had reached 31 states.

He said involving senatorial candidates in the distribution process would strengthen their engagement with constituents and help ensure that assistance reached those who needed it.

Yilwatda urged the candidates to work with party structures and other stakeholders while selecting beneficiaries without discrimination based on ethnicity, religion or political affiliation.

The RHI’s financial support programme for persons with disabilities is scheduled for 3 December to mark the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, while the Elderly Support Scheme is slated for 17 December.

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