President Bola Tinubu on Thursday jokingly referred to the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, as “Iya Alakara” during a public event, in what appeared to be a light-hearted reference to the recent debate sparked by her comments on petty trading.
The President made the remark while acknowledging dignitaries at the Presidential Press Corps Dinner held at the State House, Abuja.
A video of the event shared by Aso Rock TV showed Tinubu smiling as he greeted guests before introducing his wife with the nickname.
“Good evening, gentlemen of the press, ladies and gentlemen, my dear wife, the First Lady, Iya Alakara,” the President said, drawing laughter from members of the audience.
The comment comes weeks after the First Lady advised Nigerian women to embrace small-scale businesses such as selling akara (bean cakes), roasted corn and kuli-kuli under the Renewed Hope Initiative’s economic empowerment programme.
At the time, she said such ventures “don’t take much money” to start, a remark that generated widespread reactions on social media.
Many Nigerians criticised the statement, arguing that it appeared insensitive to the country’s prevailing economic hardship and diminished the struggles of citizens facing rising living costs.
Responding to the criticism earlier this week, the First Lady clarified that the government’s empowerment initiative extends beyond akara sellers and targets a broad range of petty traders.
Speaking during the inauguration of the newly constructed Abubakar Maje Haruna Hall at the Emir of Hadejia’s Palace in Jigawa State, she said the Federal Government had donated ₦100 million to empower 2,000 small-scale traders in the state.
“Because of the atmosphere, what is going on, I’ve told Her Excellency that we’ve already given, donated about 100 million to her to use to empower 2,000 petty traders,” she said.
Addressing the controversy directly, Oluremi Tinubu added: “And I know they’ve been talking that I said akara. It’s not only akara, we also have tomato sellers. We have boole, and those also selling pepper, selling vegetables for us in the market.”
She said the programme was designed to strengthen small businesses by providing financial support to traders.
“We will continue to empower them and add to their resources so that their trade can really be sustainable. So that is what we are doing,” the First Lady said.
