Hajiya Nana Shettima wife of the vice president on the right and Katsina State Gov Mal. Dikko Radda flanked by 5 Governors wives from the North west and beneficiaries
By Joan Nwagwu
Nigeria’s First Lady, Sen. Oluremi Tinubu, says 30 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have benefited from the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI) food outreach programme.
Mrs Tinubu, represented by the Wife of the Vice-President, Hajiya Nana Shettima, disclosed this on Friday in Katsina during the presentation of food items for distribution to vulnerable residents.
She said “the Renewed Hope Initiative Food Outreach has so far successfully distributed food items to 29 states and the Federal Capital Territory, making Katsina the 30th state beneficiary.
“Insha Allah, Osun, Ogun and Akwa Ibom states will be the next beneficiaries of this growing initiative.
“Our goal at the Renewed Hope Initiative is to complement the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu by ensuring that every Nigerian receives the support required, irrespective of circumstances.”
Tinubu said the scheme was launched in March 2024 under RHI’s Social Investment Programme to provide nutritional relief to persons with disabilities, widows and other vulnerable groups.
Hajiya Nana Shettima wife of the vice president on the right and Katsina State Gov Mal. Dikko Radda at Rhi food distribution in katsina
She said the initiative was sustained through donations from the Abdul Samad Rabiu Africa Initiative (ASR Africa) and another donor who preferred to remain anonymous.
Tinubu said both donors had committed to supplying two truckloads of food items monthly, enabling the initiative to support beneficiaries in two states every month.
She said the completion of the National Community Food Bank Programme, designed to combat child malnutrition and support pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers.
“I am using this significant platform in Katsina State to appeal to governors across Nigeria to adopt this institutional framework and establish functional community food banks in their three senatorial zones,” she said.
The First Lady commended the Katsina State Government and the state’s First Lady for supporting RHI programme and improving the welfare of vulnerable residents.
MrsTinubu, however, handed over the food items to the Katsina State governor’s wife, Hajiya Zulaihat Radda, for onward distribution to beneficiaries
Gov. Dikko Radda of Katsina state described the food outreach as practical support for vulnerable households, saying it complemented the state government’s efforts to improve living conditions.
He urged beneficiaries to use the food items to feed their families rather than sell them, assuring residents of continued investments in education, healthcare and agriculture.
Radda said his administration had constructed 170 junior and senior secondary schools, rehabilitated 100 others and recruited more than 10,000 teachers to improve access to education.
He said the government had also invested in agriculture, healthcare and security through borehole construction, healthcare facility upgrades and the recruitment of community watch personnel.
Earlier, the Katsina State governor’s wife had said that the RHI interventions benefitted residents across the state’s 34 local government areas through food assistance, social investment and targeted support schemes.
She said more than N125 million had been disbursed to 750 senior citizens over three years, while women and 30 widows had received business recapitalisation grants. (NAN)
