First Lady Oluremi Tinubu has extended financial and material support to 500 market women in Cross River State through an empowerment programme held at Watt Market in Calabar.

The exercise, which took place on Saturday, October 31, was organised through the Women Mobilisation Directorate of the APC Presidential Campaign Council as part of activities targeting women, petty traders and small business owners ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The First Lady was represented at the event by former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Dr Betta Edu, who said the initiative was designed to provide traders with capital and equipment to improve their businesses.

According to Edu, each of the 500 beneficiaries was to receive ₦50,000 in cash support, while other participants received empowerment items, including deep freezers, blenders and toasters.

She said the programme was organised at the instance of the First Lady, who is leading the party’s women mobilisation activities ahead of the next general election.

“We are not here on our own. We are here on the directive of the wife of Mr President and our First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, who is leading women’s mobilisation across the country. We are here to support you to grow and expand your businesses with N50,000 cash support and other gift items for 500 market women,” Edu said.

She explained that some of the traders operated with very limited stock, with goods worth between ₦5,000 and ₦10,000 on their trays, arguing that additional capital could help them increase their inventory and improve their livelihoods.

“The idea is to provide seed funds in the hands of these women so that they can expand that business, build on it, and things can get better for themselves and their children,” she added.

Edu also highlighted social intervention programmes introduced by the Tinubu administration, including the Students Loan Scheme, maternal healthcare support and subsidised dialysis services.

She disclosed that the Calabar exercise was the first phase of the programme in Cross River State, with further activities planned for other parts of the state, including Ogoja and the northern senatorial district.

According to her, the initiative would also be extended to other states as the APC intensifies its grassroots mobilisation ahead of the 2027 elections.

Edu openly urged residents of Cross River to support President Bola Tinubu, Governor Bassey Otu and other APC candidates at the polls.

One of the beneficiaries, Esther Bassey, a widow and mother of three from Odukpani Local Government Area, said the assistance would help her provide for her children.

She expressed appreciation to the First Lady and pledged that her family would support the APC in the 2027 elections.

Beyond the market outreach, Edu and members of the mobilisation team visited the General Hospital in Calabar, where they met women and children receiving treatment and donated gift items.

The hospital administrator, Mrs Bassey Offiong-Effiom, thanked the First Lady for the gesture and acknowledged the support received by the state’s healthcare sector.

The programme combines small-business assistance with explicit political mobilisation, as organisers encouraged beneficiaries and other residents to support the APC ahead of the 2027 general elections.