Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has extended financial and material assistance to 500 market women in Cross River State, with each beneficiary receiving ₦50,000 in business support during an outreach at Watt Market in Calabar on Saturday, 31 October 2026.

The initiative, represented by former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Dr Betta Edu, also featured business equipment and grassroots political mobilisation ahead of the 2027 general elections.

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The intervention, organised through the Women Mobilisation Directorate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, was designed to provide additional working capital for petty traders and small-scale business owners whose daily operations are often constrained by limited resources.

According to reports by Vanguard and Leadership, the programme attracted more than 5,000 women from different markets across Calabar, although 500 traders were selected to receive the ₦50,000 cash assistance.

The grants amount to a combined ₦25 million.

Beneficiaries also received business and household items, including deep freezers, blenders and toasters.

Some participants reportedly received additional financial rewards and gifts during activities organised at the gathering.

Representing the First Lady, Dr Betta Edu, who serves as Co-Director of the APC Women Mobilisation Directorate, said the initiative was undertaken at Senator Tinubu’s direction as part of a broader nationwide effort to engage women in grassroots economic activities.

Edu explained that the assistance was intended to help traders replenish their stocks, increase their purchasing capacity and gradually expand their businesses.

“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,” she said.

She noted that some petty traders operated with goods worth between ₦5,000 and ₦10,000, making additional working capital particularly important to their ability to sustain daily sales.

“The idea is to provide good seed funds in the hands of these women. We are giving them ₦50,000 so that they can expand that business, build on it and things can get better for themselves and their children,” Edu added.

The programme also provided an opportunity for the organisers to discuss the economic challenges facing women in the informal sector, where many businesses depend on daily sales, personal savings and informal borrowing rather than conventional bank financing.

A September 2024 report by Women’s World Banking, drawing on International Finance Corporation data, estimated that women account for approximately 70 per cent of trading in Nigerian markets.

The research identified several barriers affecting women micro-entrepreneurs, including the high cost of financial services, complicated loan applications, limited awareness of available financial products and concerns about debt collection practices.

It also highlighted the importance of accessible savings and credit facilities in helping women manage financial shocks and expand their businesses.

Against this background, the Calabar intervention offers immediate financial assistance to a relatively small group of traders, although its longer-term economic impact will depend on how effectively the beneficiaries can use the funds and sustain their businesses.

The event, however, had a clear political dimension beyond its economic objectives.

Edu openly connected the outreach to the APC’s preparations for the 2027 general elections, urging market women, farmers, artisans and other grassroots groups to support President Bola Tinubu, Cross River State Governor Bassey Otu and other party candidates.

She acknowledged that the mobilisation effort was part of a wider political engagement strategy being coordinated through the party’s women mobilisation structures.

The distinction is significant because the programme was not presented solely as an independent business development intervention.

Its organisers combined financial assistance with political engagement and appeals for support ahead of the next electoral cycle.

Leadership also reported that some participants expressed support for the President and the Cross River governor during the gathering, while beneficiaries received additional gifts through activities that included a dance competition.

One beneficiary, Mrs Helen Hogan, told Vanguard that the ₦50,000 assistance would make a meaningful difference to her petty trading business.

“The N50,000 means so much to me. It will boost my small business in a very big way. I’m so happy with this administration because I know with time, things will get better,” she said.

Edu also highlighted several federal government interventions, including the Students Loan Scheme, free maternal healthcare for pregnant women, subsidised dialysis services and other social programmes targeting women and vulnerable communities.

She described the Calabar exercise as the first phase of the latest Cross River outreach, with further engagements planned for other parts of the state.

According to her, Obubra and Abi were among the areas scheduled for subsequent activities in November and December, while the Northern Senatorial District was expected to be reached in January 2027.

The nationwide programme, she said, would eventually extend to other states through the directorate’s mobilisation structures.

The latest exercise follows an earlier women’s economic empowerment initiative in Cross River State unveiled by Senator Oluremi Tinubu in June 2026.

Known as the Cross River Market Women Forum for Greatness, the initiative was launched at the U. J. Esuene Stadium in Calabar, where more than 5,600 women reportedly benefited from financial and material assistance.

At the time, the First Lady, represented by Cross River Governor’s wife, Bishop Eyoanwan Otu, emphasised the importance of financial inclusion, business support and stronger economic participation for women traders.

The June programme also featured ₦50,000 grants, Point-of-Sale machines, business starter packs, wrappers, umbrellas and other materials intended to support small businesses.

The two initiatives reflect continuing efforts by federal and state-linked programmes to provide financial assistance and business resources to women operating at the grassroots level.

For the latest 500 beneficiaries, the immediate opportunity lies in using the cash support and equipment to strengthen their trading activities, improve stock availability and potentially increase household income.

However, the broader challenge remains how to translate occasional empowerment distributions into sustainable access to finance, business development support and economic security for the millions of Nigerian women who depend on informal trading.

As preparations for the 2027 general elections gather momentum, the Calabar outreach illustrates how economic assistance and political mobilisation are increasingly intersecting in grassroots engagements.

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For the women who received the grants, the practical value of the intervention will ultimately be measured not only by the support distributed on the day but also by whether the assistance helps their businesses remain viable in the months ahead.