A mild drama unfolded on Friday during the Renewed Hope Initiative empowerment programme in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, when a group of women staged a walkout midway through the event.

The women demanded to be addressed by the wife of the suspended governor rather than the wife of the state’s administrator.

The event, organised by the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, aimed to distribute empowerment items to 500 women across the state in collaboration with the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Tensions escalated when Mrs. Theresa Ibas, wife of the state’s administrator, was invited to speak. A section of the audience began chanting, “Bring back Fubara, we don’t know Ibas,” demanding the reinstatement of suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara so that his wife, Valerie, could represent the First Lady instead.

Despite the protest outside, the event proceeded indoors without further disruption. Mrs Ibas delivered Senator Tinubu’s speech, highlighting the initiative’s completion in the South-South zone, having already been executed in the North Central region.

She noted that the programme, targeting 18,500 women across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones, was part of the broader Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, aimed at promoting inclusive growth and women’s empowerment.

Items distributed included freezers, gas cookers with ovens, grinding machines, and generators.

“These tools are intended to help our women start or grow businesses, contributing to national prosperity,” Mrs Tinubu stated in her address.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on SDGs, Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, stressed the importance of women’s participation in productive ventures amidst prevailing economic difficulties. She described the initiative as a strategic intervention to tackle poverty and hunger.

The state coordinator of the Renewed Hope Initiative, Tonye Oniyinde-Briggs, said the 500 beneficiaries were selected from all 23 local government areas in the state. She encouraged them to use the tools effectively to maximise the programme’s impact.