Some women in Rivers State on Friday staged a walkout on the wife of the Rivers State administrator, Dr. Theresa Ibas, choosing to miss out on the livelihood empowerment equipment programme by the wife of the President Mrs Remi Tinubu.
The incident took place at the EUI event centre, Port Harcourt where Dr. Ibas had come to represent the president’s wife at the Renewed Hope Empowerment Programme for 500 women in Rivers State.
They staged the walkout at the point she was about to deliver a speech at the programme chanting “We want Sim, give us Sim, we want Valery, we want Remi Tinubu to speak to us.”
They said they did not understand on what capacity Lady Ete-Ibas was addressing them.
The programme, which was organised in conjunction with wives of governors of the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, was intended to empower 500 Rivers women with livelihood equipment and cash for business start-ups.
Last year’s edition was spearheaded by wife of the now suspended Rivers State governor, Mrs Valerie Fubara, who represented the president’s wife.
A viral video clip of the incident showed scores of women protesting that Mrs Ibas was not the First Lady of Rivers State and should not address them.
They insisted that Mrs Valerie Fubara was the First Lady of Rivers State and should be the one to speak to them.
Speaking to journalists, one of the women, Ekpeye Favour, noted that their grievance was not with Mrs Remi Tinubu, saying, “we were told to come out and welcome Senator Remi Tinibu and be dressed up. See me, my double rapper. We wore shirts with her and our First Lady’s imprinted on the shirts.
“We were so happy to welcome Her Excellency because we are appreciative of her goodwill to us and the empowerment programme. Only to be addressed by someone claiming to be our First Lady in this state. And women could not sit down and watch such thing happen. So they stood up and left.
“We have a governor. We love our governor. We support our governor. We have a First Lady. And we are just saying one governor at a time. We have a president, one president at a time. We have a president that we support. “We have our mummy of the nation that is empowering women in different states today that we so love and we support,” she said.
The Renewed Hope Initiative, which aims at enhancing livelihoods and fostering national development, was carried out by the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI) in partnership with the office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
A statement by Hector Igbikiowubo, Senior Special Advissr (Media) to the Rivers State Administrator said that according to the First Lady, the scheme has already been completed in the North Central zone, with the Rivers State event marking its conclusion in the South-South region.
“These tools are designed to help our women establish and grow successful businesses, contributing to the nation’s prosperity,” she said. “This program reflects the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, which prioritizes inclusivity, economic growth, and sustainable development—particularly for women.”
It added that she further highlighted the initiative’s alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG-5 (Gender Equality) and SDG-8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth).
On her part Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, Senior Special Assistant to the President on SDGs, emphasized the need for women to engage in productive ventures amid current economic challenges.
She stated that the program was designed to drive inclusive growth through strategic partnerships while addressing poverty and hunger.
Mrs. Tonye Oniyinde-Briggs, Rivers State Coordinator of RHI, explained that the 500 beneficiaries were selected from all 23 Local Government Areas of the state and encouraged them to utilize the items effectively—whether to launch new businesses or expand existing ones—to maximize the program’s impact.
The empowerment initiative reinforces the federal government’s commitment to uplifting women and fostering economic resilience across Nigeria.
READ ALSO: Lawyers march for return to democratic governance in Rivers
and then