Tinubu expands the Nigeria for Women Programme to 25 million beneficiaries, promoting women’s inclusion, digital access and family welfare nationwide

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Thursday in Abuja expanded the Nigeria for Women Programme to reach 25 million beneficiaries nationwide, reaffirming the Federal Government’s commitment to women’s economic inclusion and national development.

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President Tinubu, represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima at the Presidential Launch of the programme scale-up at the Presidential Villa, said Nigeria could not achieve sustainable growth without placing women at the centre of national planning.

“A nation that relegates its women is a nation bound for implosion. We have long understood this truth,” President Tinubu said.

The President added that the administration had deliberately placed women at the forefront of decision-making and entrusted them with leadership roles that strengthen national progress.

President Tinubu described the ambition to reach 25 million Nigerian women through the programme as bold but achievable, and called on the World Bank to strengthen financing, technical support and innovation partnerships for the national scale-up.

The President emphasised that digital inclusion had become foundational to effective service delivery and national competitiveness.

President Tinubu also designated 2026 as the “Year of Social Development and Families in Nigeria,” directing coordinated action across all tiers of government.

The declaration followed a Memorandum of Understanding signed during the President’s official visit to Turkey in January, aimed at strengthening family cohesion and social welfare systems.

President Tinubu commended the Federal Ministry of Women’s Affairs and Social Development for integrating technology into policy implementation and for reorganising social development into a more coherent system since the Renewed Hope Social Impact Intervention was launched in Lafia last year.

The President said the transformation reflected what purposeful leadership could achieve.

Earlier, the Minister of Women’s Affairs and Social Development, Imaan Sulaiman, said the launch marked a decisive shift under President Tinubu’s leadership, where women are recognised not as peripheral beneficiaries but as central drivers of economic growth, social cohesion and democratic stability.

Imaan Sulaiman described the scale-up as one of the most far-reaching expansions of social and economic empowerment in Nigeria’s history.

The Minister said the first phase had successfully addressed harmful social norms and strengthened women’s socio-economic resilience, providing compelling evidence of the transformative power of women’s empowerment.

Imaan Sulaiman also announced the launch of Nigeria’s Third National Action Plan on United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, positioning Nigeria among a select group of countries to attain the milestone.

World Bank Regional Representative for Africa, Robert Chase, said the project was designed by the bank’s Social Policy Department to place women at the centre of development.

Robert Chase noted that investing in women remained the most impactful investment any nation could make.

Director of the Nigeria Country Office of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Uche Amaonwu, said empowering women directly translated into healthier families and safer communities, adding that women’s empowerment significantly reduced disease and insecurity at the household level.

The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, expressed the Ministry’s readiness to collaborate on initiatives aimed at empowering women across the country.

Representing the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, Senator Ireti Kingibe said the scale-up reflected the Federal Government’s commitment to addressing women’s needs. Senator Ireti Kingibe added that the National Assembly would continue to enact legislation to expand women’s access to governance and economic resources.

Delivering a goodwill message on behalf of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, the Deputy Governor of Katsina State, Malam Faruk Jobe, reaffirmed the commitment of state governments to providing counterpart funding for women-focused projects.

Malam Faruk Jobe disclosed that Katsina State had earmarked N4bn in the current budget to support the initiative.

The pilot phase of the programme in six states had already reached more than one million beneficiaries.

The scale-up also introduced the Happy Woman App Platform, a secure digital interface designed to connect women to finance, skills, markets, essential services and government support.

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President Tinubu observed that while women remain the authors of Nigeria’s development story, they are equally central to family stability, community resilience and national productivity.