Osun First Lady, APC Women Leader in Grant Dispute

Osun First Lady and APC Women Leader in Grant Dispute
Over 200 businesswomen from the state’s 332 wards received N50,000 each to support their businesses
The allegations were described as false, baseless, and misleading

The First Lady of Osun State, Titilola Adeleke, has rejected claims made by the Osun APC Women Leader, Alhaja Kudirat Fakokunde, regarding the distribution of a business empowerment grant.

Eko Hot Blog reports that the APC in Osun had accused the governor’s wife of shortchanging its female members in the allocation of a business support grant initiated by Nigeria’s First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu.

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The programme, under Tinubu’s Renewed Hope initiative in partnership with the Tony Elumelu Foundation, seeks to empower grassroots women nationwide. In Osun, over 200 businesswomen from the state’s 332 wards received N50,000 each to support their businesses.

At an event held at the Tinubu Shettima campaign office in Osogbo, Kudirat Fakokunde claimed that despite requesting a larger allocation, the governor’s wife intentionally reduced the number of slots for APC women.

However, in a statement issued on Sunday by Adewale Adeleke, Chief Press Secretary to the Osun First Lady, the allegations were described as false, baseless, and misleading.

The statement noted that “the distribution of the empowerment grant was conducted transparently and fairly. Prior to the exercise, Mrs Adeleke and Alhaja Fakokunde reportedly agreed on the allocation process.

“It is unfortunate that such untrue claims are coming from Alhaja Fakokunde, whom I respect greatly. She was in my office a day before the distribution, where we agreed on the sharing process. At no point were APC women disadvantaged.

“An arrangement had been made for 200 APC women to benefit directly from the programme, while the remaining 300 slots were set aside for grassroots traders and other women in Osun across political affiliations.”

The statement highlighted that Adeleke has consistently promoted fairness by extending empowerment initiatives to women regardless of party alignment.

“In Osun State, it is unprecedented for the wife of a sitting governor to deliberately include women from the opposition party in state-wide empowerment initiatives. This demonstrates that the First Lady is God-fearing, accommodating, and peace-loving,” the statement added.

It concluded: “Such claims risk undermining genuine efforts to improve the livelihoods of women in Osun through partnerships with government agencies and private foundations. The Office of the First Lady will continue working with relevant stakeholders to provide life-changing opportunities for women across the state without bias or discrimination.”

Osun First Lady, APC Women Leader in Grant Dispute

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