Remi Tinubu’s pet project donations hit N9.4bn
Senator Oluremi Tinubu’s pet project, the Renewed Hope Initiative, donated a total of N9.4bn to various health initiatives and humanitarian campaigns in the past 16 months, The PUNCH reports.
The figures from the First Lady’s office include direct cash disbursements and pledged interventions targeting women, displaced persons, orphans of fallen military heroes, senior citizens and Nigerians in diaspora communities.
This is as she linked the donated funds to private donors and corporate partners, most of whom, she said, prefer to remain anonymous.
Launched soon after President Tinubu assumed office in May 2023, the RHI rolled out one of its earliest social investment programmes in July 2023, where it donated N250,000 each to 57 families affected by flooding in Abuja’s TradeMore Estate, amounting to N14.25m.
In the same month, it offered N500m in relief funds to victims of insecurity in Maiduguri, Borno State and supported widows and orphans of fallen servicemen with N427.75 million—delivered as N250,000 each to 1,709 beneficiaries.
In November 2023, the First Lady launched the “Every Home a Garden” contest, offering a N20m prize to first-time female farmers nationwide to bolster domestic food production.
On August 26, 2023, she announced 43 scholarships worth N4m each over four academic sessions. The RHI, in partnership with the National Information Technology Development Agency, launched a digital literacy initiative that trained 35 women, each receiving N100,000 and a laptop.
In September 2023, the RHI pledged N1m each to 500 displaced families from Mangu, Plateau State. On December 21, 2023, the First Lady donated N950m to police, military retirees and senior citizens. This formed part of the Elderly Support Scheme, aiding at least 250 individuals aged 65 and above.
By December 2024, an additional N1.9bn was allocated to the welfare of the elderly across all 36 states and the FCT, with another N50m dedicated to 250 older persons in Nasarawa State on December 18, 2024.
Between August and December 2023, the RHI distributed N50m in grants to 1,000 female petty traders in three states—Nasarawa, Kaduna, and Edo. The initiative formed part of a larger N1.8bn plan to empower 37,000 women petty traders nationwide.
Also, in Plateau State, the First Lady presented N500m to 500 families displaced by communal violence. She similarly gave N70m to 140 women farmers in the North-West.
Meanwhile, in the South-East, she flagged off the region’s RHI in Owerri, Imo State, with 20 female farmers from each of the five South-Eastern states receiving funds, while their respective First Ladies accepted cheques for N10m on their behalf. According to Senator Tinubu, the programme targets women, persons with disabilities and the indigent to strengthen human capital.
On November 16, 2023, it disbursed N427.75m to 1,709 widows and orphans of fallen heroes at N250,000 each. In March 2025, she pledged N1bn to eradicate tuberculosis by 2030, following a similar N1bn commitment in March 2024. She also gave N500m to help over two million flood victims in Borno State.
In December 2024, Tinubu supported Joseph Ayo Babalola University with a N50m endowment to empower the top female graduating students. She reiterated her dedication to nurturing the younger generation, emphasising the vital link between quality education and nation-building.
In the diaspora, the RHI donated $100,000 (then valued at N150m) in early 2023 to construct a hospital for over 40,000 Nigerians living in Sierra Leone—an initiative lauded by the Nigerian Diaspora Organisation in that country.
According to the Nigerians in the Diaspora, Sierra Leone chapter, the donation fulfilled her pledge to construct a first-class medical centre for Nigerians in the West African country.
On December 20, 2024, the RHI distributed 22,800 bags of rice and N95m to Christian communities in the 19 northern states for Christmas and New Year festivities. Earlier that month, in February 2025, the First Lady donated N100m to families affected by a tanker explosion in Niger State, ensuring that each of the 70 families received N1m, with the remainder spent on food and supplies.
In November 2024, the Initiative’s activities drew the attention of some Nigerians who questioned its source of funding, given that the constitution does not officially recognise the office of the First Lady and, therefore, it receives no statutory funding in the budget.
However, Senator Tinubu argued that the RHI receives most of its funding from private donors and corporate partners.
At a meeting with governors’ wives at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja, she said, “I know people are always saying, ‘Where do I get the billions from? I’m going to address that. We are an NGO; people give us money.’”
She named the BUA Group among her several donors, most of whom, she said, prefer to remain anonymous.
“Like the food bank we are doing, we have two companies; BUA is one of them; the other one wants to stay anonymous; maybe they want people to trouble you. That were the people we started with.
“They give us a truckload of food, and Mrs. Shettima handles that. We go from state to state. We have also covered maybe seven states, and BUA is joining in to cover the 36 states. If it is one truck per state, within two years, we should be able to finish. So I’m really excited that BUA too keyed into that,” she stated.
