Nigeria's First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has responded to criticism over her recent remarks about akara sellers, clarifying that the ₦100 million empowerment fund was never intended for only one category of petty traders.
Addressing the controversy, the First Lady explained that the intervention is designed to support a wide range of small-scale entrepreneurs, including akara sellers, boli sellers, tomato sellers, vegetable sellers and pepper sellers.
"We've donated ₦100 million to help petty traders and I know people have been talking that I said akara, but it's not only akara. We also have boli sellers, tomato sellers, vegetable sellers and pepper sellers too. We'll continue to empower them," she said.
Oluremi Tinubu reaffirmed her commitment to supporting grassroots businesses, noting that empowering petty traders remains an important part of efforts to improve livelihoods, strengthen local economies and enhance financial inclusion.
Her clarification comes after comments she made about akara sellers sparked widespread debate on social media, with critics questioning the scope of the empowerment programme.
The First Lady maintained that the initiative is aimed at improving the welfare of low-income traders across different sectors and pledged that similar empowerment programmes would continue to reach more beneficiaries nationwide.
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