APC Chieftain Defends Oluremi Tinubu’s ‘Akara’ Remark, Donates Cash to Widows for Small Businesses in Osun

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A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, has defended the recent call by Oluremi Tinubu encouraging women to embrace small-scale businesses, insisting that honest entrepreneurship remains one of the surest routes to economic independence.

Oyintiloye made the remarks on Tuesday in Ibokun, Osun State, while distributing cash gifts to widows as part of activities marking his birthday celebration. He said the empowerment initiative was aimed at supporting the First Lady’s advocacy for women to engage in petty trading and other income-generating ventures.

The APC stalwart criticised those who had attacked the First Lady over her comments encouraging women to consider businesses such as selling akara, roasted corn and kulikuli, arguing that critics had failed to appreciate the importance of small and medium-sized enterprises to Nigeria’s economy.

According to him, many successful entrepreneurs started with modest businesses before expanding into larger enterprises that now employ hundreds of Nigerians.

“Economic growth is sustained by the strength of small and medium-scale enterprises. Many families depend on these ventures for survival,” he said.

Oyintiloye added that there is dignity in honest labour, stressing that starting with a small business is more honourable than engaging in criminal or immoral activities to make money.

“Starting small, as being encouraged by the wife of the President, is far better than engaging in prostitution or other illicit acts,” he said.

As part of the empowerment programme, the APC chieftain presented cash donations ranging from ₦30,000 to ₦50,000 to widows, encouraging them to invest the funds in small businesses that would provide sustainable sources of income.

He described the initiative as a practical demonstration of the biblical injunction in James 1:27, which calls on believers to care for widows and vulnerable members of society.

Also speaking at the event, Benjamin Fabelurin, the immediate past Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Obokun Local Government Chapter, said celebrating birthdays is consistent with biblical teachings.

Quoting Psalm 90:12–17, Fabelurin urged Christians to value each day, live purposefully and make meaningful contributions to their communities through acts of kindness and service.

The event comes amid continuing national discussions on grassroots economic empowerment, with supporters of the First Lady maintaining that encouraging women to establish small businesses offers a practical solution to unemployment and poverty.

Political observers say initiatives focused on micro-enterprises and petty trading could play a significant role in expanding economic opportunities for low-income households, particularly widows and other vulnerable groups.