500 Taraba Women Receive Empowerment Grants from Renewed Hope Initiative.

By Jako, August 18, 2025.

At least 500 women entrepreneurs in Taraba State have benefited from a ₦50,000 empowerment grant each, under the Renewed Hope Initiative in partnership with the Tony Elumelu Foundation.

The programme, which targets women across the 36 states of the federation, was coordinated in Taraba through the Office of the Governor’s Wife, Mrs. Agyn Agbu Kefas. The distribution ceremony was held on Monday at the Government House Conference Hall, Jalingo.

Presenting the funds, Mrs. Kefas said the gesture was designed to strengthen petty traders and small-scale women entrepreneurs in the state. She explained that similar interventions had previously been extended to youths, the elderly, and vulnerable groups, all aimed at improving livelihoods and boosting household income.

Mrs. Kefas expressed gratitude to Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, and the Tony Elumelu Foundation for their commitment to women’s economic empowerment. She described the support as timely, noting that it would cushion the impact of current economic hardship.

“As a mother, I have always ensured that every empowerment initiative through my office, whether in cash or kind, reaches the intended beneficiaries,” she said, urging recipients to invest the grants wisely to expand their businesses.

Delivering a welcome address, Commissioner for Women Affairs and Child Development, Mrs. Mary Sinjen, represented by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Mr. Eric Juyo, commended the initiative as both “timely and visionary.” He also praised Mrs. Kefas for championing the establishment of the family court in the state, pledging the ministry’s continued support to create an enabling environment for women to thrive socially, politically, and economically.

In her goodwill message, APC Deputy National Leader, Hajiya Zainab Ibrahim, hailed Mrs. Kefas as “the queen of Taraba” for her inclusive empowerment efforts that cut across political, religious, and ethnic lines. She noted that the intervention aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s “five-finger agenda,” which prioritizes lifting families out of poverty through women’s economic inclusion.

Some beneficiaries, overwhelmed with gratitude, offered prayers for both the First Lady and the Taraba governor’s wife, thanking them for the assistance and pledging to make good use of the support.

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