CALABAR — First Lady Sen. Oluremi Tinubu has officially flagged off a state-wide social intervention drive in Calabar, unveiling a centralized food distribution bank and announcing a financial donation of ₦500 million to Cross River State under the banner of her flagship initiative, the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI).
Speaking at the official ceremony at the Government House in Calabar, Sen. Tinubu explained that the ₦500 million disbursement is structured to support local agricultural empowerment, micro-business grants for rural women, and direct welfare relief for elderly citizens, persons with disabilities, and low-income households across the state’s three senatorial districts.
The unveiled Food Bank project is designed to operate as a sustainable food security safety net in partnership with the Cross River State Ministry of Social Welfare and humanitarian agencies. Under the scheme, essential staple foods, farming inputs, and nutritional supplies will be channeled continuously to vulnerable community clusters to cushion the immediate impacts of food inflation and economic transition policies.
Accompanied by Cross River State Governor Bassey Otu and his wife, Rev. Eyoanwan Otu, the First Lady reiterated that social welfare interventions must go beyond temporary palliatives to include functional vocational training and small-business seed funding. Governor Otu commended the Federal Government’s commitment to grassroots welfare, assuring that the state government will match the initiative’s reach by expanding local agricultural outgrower programs across all 18 local government areas.
