When Senator Oluremi Tinubu mounted the altar during the inter-denominational church service at the National Christian Centre in Abuja on the eve of the inauguration of the then president-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu and gracefully announced that she would be one of the oldest first ladies in Nigeria, not many knew she would also go down in history as one of the most influential wives of presidents.
Three years on, the three-term senator has become the unofficial face of the Renewed Hope agenda, the manifesto mantra on which her husband rode to power, championing empowerment and humanitarian programmes worth billions of naira.Based on publicly available records, Mrs Tinubu has announced or facilitated cash donations worth over N15 billion through the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI) from July 2023 to July 2026 and raised over N25bn in 2025 via the Oluremi@65 Education Fund for the completion of the National Library in Abuja. This sum does not include food item donations worth billions of naira made by the President’s wife.
For many observers, the critical question at the heart of these multi-billionaira activities of the Office of the First Lady remains: what is the funding source of the initiative of the president’s wife whose office is neither constitutionally recognised nor captured in the national budget?
Weekend Trust’s analysis, premised on official statements, media reports and events attended by the First Lady, showed that the interventions spanned humanitarian relief, education, healthcare, women empowerment, disability support, agriculture, elderly welfare and disaster response.
Mrs Tinubu made public donations of N2.184bn in 2023, N3.745bn in 2024, N6.15 billion in 2025 and N2.12bn in the first seven months of 2026. While many of the donations were under the RHI, others were personal or routed through intervention programmes.
On July 21, she donated N2bn to support the development of the Akwete weaving industry in Abia State. Two days later, the First Lady distributed N50 million to 1,000 women in Iwo Local Government Area of Osun State to support their small businesses. Earlier, on April 16, the RHI donated N70M to 140 women farmers in the North-West.
Cash gifts to flood victims, widows, scholarships
One of the earliest interventions under the RHI came in July 2023, when the First Lady donated N250,000 each to 57 families affected by flooding at TradeMore Estate in Abuja, amounting to N14.25m.
On August 26, 2023, she announced 43 scholarships worth N4m each to be spread across four academic sessions, running into N172m altogether.
In the same August, the RHI, in partnership with the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), launched a digital literacy programme in Benue State where 35 women received training, N100,000 each (N3.5m) and laptops.
During the commissioning of the Community ICT Centre in Vandeikya Local Government Area, Mrs Tinubu also announced a N100m grant.
Governor Hyacinth Alia, who attended the event, described the NITDA/RHI Community ICT Centre as “a transformational project that would provide opportunities for youths, students, farmers, women, and persons with disabilities.”
Still in August, the First Lady distributed N50m to 1,000 female petty traders in Nasarawa, Kaduna and Edo states as part of a nationwide N1.85 billion programme targeting 37,000 women petty traders.
In September 2023, she pledged N1m each to 500 displaced families from Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State. On November 16, 2023, the RHI disbursed N427.75m to 1,709 widows and orphans of fallen military personnel, with each beneficiary receiving N250,000.
“Under the Social Investment Programme of the Renewed Hope Initiative, RHI, we are here to empower 1,709 widows with the sum of N250,000 each. This will enable you to recapitalise an existing business or start a business of your choice to enable you to care for your families. We recognise that widows are not victims; they are survivors,” she stated.
Later in November, Mrs Tinubu launched the “Every Home a Garden” competition, offering a N20m prize to first-time female farmers to encourage household food production.
On December 21, she donated N950m to police and military retirees as well as elderly citizens under the Renewed Hope Initiative Elderly Support Scheme.
”This scheme is to support 250 vulnerable elderly citizens aged 65 and above in all 36 states of the federation and veterans from DEPOWA (Defence and Police Officers’ Wives Association). These selected beneficiaries will receive N100,000 each,” she added.
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