A women’s equipment handout in Enugu became part of Nigeria’s 2027 election push when First Lady Oluremi Tinubu urged support for President Bola Tinubu and All Progressives Congress (APC) candidates at a rally on Saturday, Oct. 31.
At Okpara Square, Tinubu also called for support for Vice President Kashim Shettima. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) said the event opened the APC Women Mobilisation Directorate’s work in the South-East and the Presidential Women Campaign Council’s 2027 effort to mobilize support for Tinubu and Shettima.
NAN reported that 5,000 women were empowered with sewing machines, popcorn machines and grinding machines. BusinessDay also listed food processors and generators. Neither report gives counts by equipment type or a state-by-state breakdown.
Before the Enugu event, the Renewed Hope Initiative said a Sept. 9 program in Owerri allocated ₦250 million to 2,500 women, with 500 beneficiaries in each of the South-East’s five states.
Accounts differ over a planned Dec. 3 cash program. BusinessDay reported that 750 women in Enugu would receive ₦200,000 each, with 250 recipients in each of the state’s three senatorial districts.
An Oct. 29 statement signed by Senior Special Assistant on Media to the First Lady, Busola Kukoyi, describes the Dec. 3 grants as support for people with disabilities. It sets payments of ₦200,000 for 250 people in each of Nigeria’s 109 senatorial districts. NAN’s Enugu account also identified people with disabilities as recipients and reported 750 beneficiaries across the state’s senatorial zones.
The statement schedules a separate Dec. 17 program offering ₦200,000 to 250 older people in every senatorial district. Recipients must be at least 65. APC senatorial candidates will oversee distribution, but the statement says eligibility should not be limited to party members. Tinubu told the candidates to give the aid to “your voters.”
NAN reported that Tinubu said Nigeria was moving toward prosperity after a difficult period of economic reforms. The statement schedules the first payment for Dec. 3, followed by the older-persons program on Dec. 17.
