Friends of President Tinubu and Shettima Community Organisation, in partnership with the Good Leadership Support Organisation (GLSO), has called on Nigerians to take advantage of the economic empowerment and poverty eradication programmes of the President Bola Tinubu-led administration.
At a press briefing in Abuja over the weekend to address key national issues, the group urged women and youths across Nigeria to acquire new skills in order to navigate the current economic challenges.
National coordinator of the organisation, Mrs. Bridget Torbua Igbauke, who highlighted the vital role that skill acquisition plays in combating poverty, emphasised that it aligns with President Tinubu’s “Renewed Hope Agenda” aimed at uplifting Nigerian citizens.
“There’s nothing we cannot achieve when we set our minds to it and do it together,” Mrs. Igbauke stated during the briefing. “As our President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, wisely said, ‘Yesterday is history, today is action—action against poverty.’
We, the Nigerian women and youth, are ready to take advantage of the developmental strides under the Renewed Hope Agenda to break the cycle of poverty in our families. We are committed to changing our mindset, thinking, perception, and attitude towards learning a skill today.”
Mrs. Igbauke further endorsed the political ideologies and policies of President Tinubu, which she described as “means-tested and universal,” offering a safety net and springboard for Nigerians to achieve greater success in their lives.
She detailed several key initiatives of the Tinubu administration, including the increase in minimum wage from N30,000 to N70,000, the achievement of local government autonomy through Supreme Court pronouncements, and the introduction of a N50,000 provisional conditional grant scheme for small businesses.
Addressing the importance of ethical political ideology, Mrs. Igbauke stated, “A political ideology is an act of ethical ideas, principles, doctrines, myths, or symbols of political movement that offers a stance for a certain social order, such as the eradication of poverty in the society and emplacing prosperity. It cements the relationship between the government and the governed and helps members of society follow the policies of their government.”
When questioned about Tinubu’s performance in the past year, Mrs. Igbauke urged Nigerians to be patient. “My candid message to our fellow Nigerians is for them to calm down. You don’t expect the president to solve all the problems he met under a year in office. Our president is doing everything possible to bring Nigerians out of poverty. Also, the president alone cannot bring us out of poverty; it has to be a collaborative effort from the government, the people, and even the media.”
On whether the Tinubu administration has done enough for women, Mrs. Igbauke responded, “The problem of Nigeria has been there time immemorial. When the president came in, he met so many issues on the ground. So you don’t expect a president to solve the problems of Nigeria in just one year. And not only that, you don’t expect him to do it alone. Poverty itself is voluntary and involuntary. If you sit back at home and don’t want to learn a skill, then poverty becomes inevitable. That’s why we are here to ensure that every woman learns a skill. When you’re skilled, you earn a wage; when you earn a wage, you earn a profit; and when you earn a profit, you will be waving poverty goodbye.”
The briefing concluded with a call to action by the group, under the theme “Operation Do It Yourself,” urging all Nigerian women and youth to acquire new skills as a pathway to financial independence and poverty eradication. Mrs. Igbauke reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to converting words into deeds by promoting skill acquisition and economic self-reliance.