Nigeria’s First Lady, Sen. Oluremi Tinubu, has delivered a high-stakes challenge to the wives of the 36 state governors, demanding greater commitment and ownership of social intervention programmes aimed at eradicating child malnutrition across the country.
Presiding over the first Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI) quarterly meeting of 2026 at the State House, the First Lady was unsparing in her call for accountability, urging the governors’ wives to justify their titles through independent, impactful leadership.
The meeting’s primary agenda was the upcoming launch of the National Community Food Bank program, scheduled to kick off this April in Borno State.
The initiative is designed to integrate food security with healthcare by situating food banks in proximity to Primary Health Care Centers.
Tinubu emphasized that the programme will focus on children aged 0 to 6 and pregnant women to ensure a healthy start from the earliest stages of life.
“There will be supplements for all those children who are malnourished,” the First Lady stated.
“The children will be nourished right from conception. You have work to do; you have to make sure you can identify children who are malnourished and ensure they get access to the necessary supply.”
Addressing the progress of subnational interventions, Tinubu used a pointed parenting metaphor to describe the current state of RHI programs across the country.
“It’s like giving birth to a baby… the baby is supposed to walk unaided, and that is what I want to see,” she remarked.
“I expect them to do what they are supposed to do.”
She noted that while many sought the prestigious title of “First Lady” over the traditional “Wife of the Governor,” that title comes with a debt of service.
“If you want that title, then we want to see you actually reach out and be independent in what you are doing,” she added, drawing on her own experience as a former First Lady of Lagos State and that of the Vice President’s wife, Hajia Nana Shettima, who served in Borno.
Reflecting on Nigeria’s economic paradox, Tinubu expressed frustration over the country’s nutritional statistics.
“It is sad for a nation, as they will quote me—we’re a rich nation. Don’t tell me that God blessed us, only that our priorities are just different.
“Why would we be talking about child malnutrition at this level?”But for whatever it’s worth, we want to tackle it as much as we can.”
Tinubu urged the governors’ wives to look beyond federal directives and innovate based on their states’ unique strengths to promote women’s economic empowerment through agriculture, skills development, and small-scale enterprises tailored to strengthen their states’ economies.
Drawing from her experience as a former governor’s wife in Lagos State, Tinubu advised the current governors’ wives to develop initiatives that support young people, promote mentorship and foster self-reliance.
The First Lady recalled how programmes, such as the Lagos Spelling Bee competition, were introduced to encourage pupils to remain in public schools at a time when educational infrastructure faced serious challenges.
“I started some small initiatives, like the Spelling Bee competitions and leadership programmes for girls to encourage young people and complement what the government was doing,” she stated.
Tinubu also urged the governors’ wives to address emerging social concerns, including the need to positively reshape the mindset of young boys through targeted mentorship and support programmes.
He cited initiatives already underway in some states, including programmes that focus on the boy-child, being run by the current Lagos State governor’s wife, Dr. Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu.
She described them as important steps toward addressing societal challenges and urged the governors’ wives to promote women’s economic empowerment through agriculture, skills development, and small-scale enterprises tailored to strengthen their states’ economies.
She cited the examples of initiatives in some states, including the development of an adire production hub in Ekiti State and opportunities in cassava processing and fish production in other regions.
According to her, such locally driven programmes can help women to generate income while strengthening community economies.
The quarterly meeting, Tinubu said, would also serve as a platform for sharing success stories and best practices that could be replicated across states.
“We want to hear their stories: what they are doing in their states, so that we can tell people and encourage others to do more,” she added.
Beyond nutrition, the First Lady detailed an ambitious roadmap for 2026, including the expansion of digital literacy and educational support, ongoing disbursement of $250 to 71 beneficiaries of the “Educating Linda” programme, and ₦1 million scholarships to RHI scholars.
Inauguration of 21 new Digital Learning Centres to boost ICT skills among women and youth.
Twelve states, including Zamfara, Kano, Rivers, Borno, Adamawa, Osun, Yobe, Imo, Edo, Katsina, and Nasarawa, are slated to receive dedicated ICT hubs as well as 200,000 stipends for 250 elderly persons per state.
The First Lady’s “aggressive” stance comes as Nigeria continues to grapple with staggering health statistics.
According to UNICEF, approximately one in three children under five in Nigeria, suffer from stunting.
Clarifying that these efforts are about governance, not politics, he said: “I have not started campaigning yet. Whatever we are doing is what we expect the electorate to expect from us.”
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