Oluremi Tinubu says her pet project, RHI, is funded by private donors and corporate partners

The President’s wife, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, said on Thursday that funding for her pet project, Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI), is coming from private donors and corporate partners.

Mrs. Tinubu disclosed this at the State House, Abuja, while speaking with journalists after meeting wives of state governors and other state representatives who are the state and regional coordinators of the RHI.

According to her, the need for clarification arose in connection with requests in some circles.

Defending the source of RHI’s funding, the First Lady said: “I know people always say where am I going to get the billions, I’m going to solve this problem. We are a non-governmental organization (NGO). People give us money.”

According to her, among her donors, in addition to those who wished to remain anonymous, is the BUA group.

“Like the food bank we are setting up, we have two companies, one is BUA, the other wants to remain anonymous.

“They give us a food truck and Mrs. (Kashim) Shettima handles it. We travel from state to state. We have also covered about seven states and BUA is joining to cover 36 states if there is one truck per state. So, in less than two years we will be able to finish. So I’m very glad that BUA took part in this too,” she said.

She also said RHI would announce the winner of the Every Home a Garden competition by December, adding that the competition had already identified three finalists.

According to her, the winner of the competition, which aims to encourage Nigerians, especially women, to embrace cottage farming practices, will go home with a grand prize of N20 million.

Speaking further about the competition, she said: “We are opening the competition “Every House is a Garden.” So very soon, in December, we are ready to announce the winner; we have identified the three finalists.”

Meanwhile, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security said it has allocated about N2.516 billion for the implementation of the First Lady’s four agriculture-related RHI programmes.

To strengthen food security and agricultural development in the country, the company said it has allocated approximately N68 million to each state to support four key agriculture-focused initiatives under the First Lady’s RHI.

The Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Aliyu Abdullahi, who disclosed this after the meeting, said the funding would be divided among four specific projects under the agriculture support component of the RHI.

He listed them as: training and empowering women in agriculture, supporting young farmers, the Every Home a Garden program and reviving the Young Farmers Club.

Each project aims to promote sustainable agriculture and improve food security throughout the country.

According to the Minister, “We are partnering with the Office of the First Lady through her pet project RHI to provide significant support to agriculture in all states through their First Ladies.

“This collaboration allows us to use her platform to reach communities and increase participation in agriculture at the grassroots level.”

Abdullahi outlined projects starting with women’s training and empowerment in agriculture, which will focus on enhancing women’s skills in agriculture and food processing to improve food security and nutrition standards.

The program, he said, will also help young farmers, both men and women, establish themselves in the agricultural sector.

One innovative component is the Every Home a Garden initiative, which encourages families to grow small gardens, which the Minister believes will help households contribute to the national food basket, reduce pressure on market supplies and increase access to food in the home.

The initiative is also reinvigorating the Young Farmers Club, a well-known program from past decades.

“This club will be supported to encourage the younger generation to consider agriculture as a viable career, not only as a source of livelihood, but also as a sustainable contribution to national food security,” Abdullahi explained.

The minister said the funds will be released to government coordinators with a clear schedule outlining the budget for each project.

Federal State Agriculture Commissioners will work closely with the Offices of First Ladies to oversee project implementation and ensure efficient use of resources.

Speaking about the timeline for the deployment, Abdullahi noted that the ministry is getting closer to readiness, saying it is 95 percent ready.

“Following this briefing, the coordinators will work with designated coordinators in each state. As soon as the account details are received from the offices of the first ladies, we will begin disbursing the funds,” he added.

Abdullahi stressed that this initiative was not a one-off, but part of a broader commitment to spread sustainable farming practices across the country.

Deji Elumoye

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