The Mandate Secretary for Women Affairs in the Federal Capital Territory, Dayo Laniyi, has revealed that First Lady Oluremi Tinubu frequently describes herself as the oldest first lady in Nigerian history.
Speaking in an interview with Channels TV, she analysed the Renewed Hope Initiative Scheme’s (RHIS) elderly support program and the First Lady’s personal connection to senior citizen welfare. “Through RHIS, we’ve worked with the elderly support scheme, where, two years in a row, provision has been made. First was ₦150,000 for 250 elderly citizens,” she stated.
The mandate secretary emphasized that the financial support extends beyond cash payments to comprehensive care packages. “This support brings an intervention which has its own support from the state. So, we provide food, we provide medical care, all of those things along with that,” she explained.
She revealed the First Lady’s frequent self-characterization regarding her age and its impact on her approach to elder care. “Just a special day of celebrating elders, and you know Her Excellency always says, ‘I am the eldest First Lady ever to come into office,'” she disclosed.
The Women Affairs secretary stated that this personal perspective influences the First Lady’s sensitivity toward elderly citizens’ needs. “She has a sensibility when it comes to that care, and it’s a care that doesn’t just bring respect,” she observed.
Laniyi described the program’s broader impact beyond ceremonial recognition, emphasizing practical intervention for vulnerable elderly populations. “It also brings an intervention for a lot of these people who, either through retirement, have been forgotten, sidelined, or are just, because of conditions around them, are in the place where they need food,” she explained.
She also revealed initiatives targeting women with disabilities who are farmers, as well as youth and students, explaining that comprehensive programs are being established to support these groups.
The official announced that the Tinubu’s administration had successfully resuscitated a farm demonstration facility under the women affairs department that had been dormant for 15 years. She explained that this facility had previously operated under the social development secretariat but had remained unused for over a decade.
According to her, the government had originally constructed the facility with five fish ponds, an overhead tank, and other necessary infrastructure, but it had fallen into disuse. She credited the current administration’s renewed hope initiative and agenda, working through the honorable minister, with revitalizing the project.
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