Who is funding Remi Tinubu’s donations?

When Senator Oluremi Tinubu mounted the altar during the inter-denominational church service at the National Christian Centre in Abuja on the eve of the inauguration of the then president-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu and gracefully announced that she would be one of the oldest first ladies in Nigeria, not many knew she would also go down in history as one of the most influential wives of presidents.

Three years on, the three-term senator has become the unofficial face of the Renewed Hope agenda, the manifesto mantra on which her husband rode to power, championing empowerment and humanitarian programmes worth billions of naira.

Based on publicly available records, Mrs Tinubu has announced or facilitated cash donations worth over N15 billion through the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI) from July 2023 to July 2026 and raised over N25bn in 2025 via the Oluremi@65 Education Fund for the completion of the National Library in Abuja. This sum does not include food item donations worth billions of naira made by the President’s wife.

For many observers, the critical question at the heart of these multi-billionaira activities of the Office of the First Lady remains: what is the funding source of the initiative of the president’s wife whose office is neither constitutionally recognised nor captured in the national budget?

Weekend Trust’s analysis, premised on official statements, media reports and events attended by the First Lady, showed that the interventions spanned humanitarian relief, education, healthcare, women empowerment, disability support, agriculture, elderly welfare and disaster response.

Mrs Tinubu made public donations of N2.184bn in 2023, N3.745bn in 2024, N6.15 billion in 2025 and N2.12bn in the first seven months of 2026. While many of the donations were under the RHI, others were personal or routed through intervention programmes.

On July 21, she donated N2bn to support the development of the Akwete weaving industry in Abia State. Two days later, the First Lady distributed N50 million to 1,000 women in Iwo Local Government Area of Osun State to support their small businesses. Earlier, on April 16, the RHI donated N70M to 140 women farmers in the North-West.

Cash gifts to flood victims, widows, scholarships

One of the earliest interventions under the RHI came in July 2023, when the First Lady donated N250,000 each to 57 families affected by flooding at TradeMore Estate in Abuja, amounting to N14.25m.

On August 26, 2023, she announced 43 scholarships worth N4m each to be spread across four academic sessions, running into N172m altogether.

In the same August, the RHI, in partnership with the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), launched a digital literacy programme in Benue State where 35 women received training, N100,000 each (N3.5m) and laptops.

During the commissioning of the Community ICT Centre in Vandeikya Local Government Area, Mrs Tinubu also announced a N100m grant.

Governor Hyacinth Alia, who attended the event, described the NITDA/RHI Community ICT Centre as “a transformational project that would provide opportunities for youths, students, farmers, women, and persons with disabilities.”

Still in August, the First Lady distributed N50m to 1,000 female petty traders in Nasarawa, Kaduna and Edo states as part of a nationwide N1.85 billion programme targeting 37,000 women petty traders.

In September 2023, she pledged N1m each to 500 displaced families from Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State. On November 16, 2023, the RHI disbursed N427.75m to 1,709 widows and orphans of fallen military personnel, with each beneficiary receiving N250,000.

“Under the Social Investment Programme of the Renewed Hope Initiative, RHI, we are here to empower 1,709 widows with the sum of N250,000 each. This will enable you to recapitalise an existing business or start a business of your choice to enable you to care for your families. We recognise that widows are not victims; they are survivors,” she stated.

Later in November, Mrs Tinubu launched the “Every Home a Garden” competition, offering a N20m prize to first-time female farmers to encourage household food production.

On December 21, she donated N950m to police and military retirees as well as elderly citizens under the Renewed Hope Initiative Elderly Support Scheme.

”This scheme is to support 250 vulnerable elderly citizens aged 65 and above in all 36 states of the federation and veterans from DEPOWA (Defence and Police Officers’ Wives Association). These selected beneficiaries will receive N100,000 each,” she added.

RHI’s healthcare support, humanitarian relief

The First Lady began 2024 with an international health intervention. On February 5, the RHI donated $100,000 (about N150m) towards the construction of a hospital for Nigerians living in Sierra Leone. In March, she pledged N1bn towards Nigeria’s campaign to eliminate tuberculosis by 2030.

Following the devastating floods in Maiduguri in September 2024, she donated N500m to victims through the RHI. In October, she donated N1bn for the restoration of the horticultural landscape of her alma mater, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife in Osun State.

On December 18, the initiative donated N50m to support 250 elderly persons in Nasarawa State under the Elderly Support Scheme. She explained that N1.9bn had been approved for elderly citizens nationwide.

”The Governing Board of the Renewed Hope Initiative has decided to increase the initial grant of N100,000 to N200,000 this year to provide further support to our elderly citizens during this festival season.

“A total of N1.9bn will be disbursed across the nation. The RHI coordinators in the 36 states of the federation, the FCT and DEPOWA have received N50m each, out of which N200,000 will be distributed to each beneficiary,” she said.

During the year, she also donated N50m to Joseph Ayo Babalola University as an endowment fund for outstanding female graduating students.

On December 20, the RHI distributed 22,800 bags of rice and N95 million to Christian communities across the 19 Northern states for Christmas and New Year celebrations.

Disability grants, humanitarian interventions in 2025

In February 2025, Mrs Tinubu donated N100 million to “rehabilitate the families” affected by the Niger State tanker explosion.

“We are looking at 70 families. Each family will have N1 million to help them settle while the balance will be shared among them for other extra expenses, like food items and others,” she added.

During the same period, she announced a N50m grant for 1,000 women traders in Kaduna State, distributed 10,000 professional kits to midwives in the North-West and approved N250,000 grants and food items for 200 households of persons with disabilities in Kogi State.

On March 6, 2025, Mrs Tinubu launched a N1.85bn business grant scheme for persons with disabilities, providing N200,000 each to 250 beneficiaries in every state and the Federal Capital Territory. Later in March, she pledged another N1bn toward tuberculosis eradication.

On May 21, the initiative donated N100m to the Five Cowries Art Education Initiative, followed by N1bn for victims of violent attacks in Plateau and Benue states respectively on July 29. On August 6, she announced N1bn and relief materials for flood victims in Niger State.

On September 19, the former senator donated N500m to support more than two million flood victims in Borno State. During the South-East Renewed Hope Initiative flag-off in October, the first ladies in the five South-Eastern states received N10m each on behalf of female farmers in their respective states.

Aside from the First Lady’s publicly disclosed donations, she announced in December 2025 that the Oluremi @65 Education Fund, which was launched to mark her 65th birthday three months earlier, had raised N25,520,708,074.35 for the construction of the National Library in Abuja.

The fundraising is not included in the N14.2bn donations, as the funds were publicly presented as contributions made by donors toward the National Library project rather than direct donations made by the First Lady.

Remi Tinubu secures N66bn pledges for food bank

Mrs Tinubu’s RHI launched the National Community Food Bank Programme in Abuja on April 2, 2026 and secured over N66bn in pledges. She made a personal pledge of N500m.

The commitments included a N20bn pledge in kind from the Aliko Dangote Foundation over five years, N10bn from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), N17bn from the federal government through the Social Action Fund, N500m from the Emeka Offor Foundation and $500,000 from anonymous donors.

State governors were also urged to contribute N500m each.

The new programme preceded the RHI’s Food Outreach Scheme launched in March 2024 to provide food items to persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups to improve their welfare and support their families.

During the donation of food items to vulnerable groups under the scheme on Tuesday in Ondo State, Mrs Tinubu, represented by the wife of the Vice President, Hajia Nana Shettima, reiterated that the Tinubu administration would intensify efforts to combat hunger and child malnutrition through the establishment of community food banks and expanded food outreach programmes.

“No Nigerian should go hungry; that is our mandate and part of our vision for the Renewed Hope Initiative,” she said, adding that the programme is sustained through the support of two unnamed donors who provide two truckloads of food items to the RHI every month.

Donations by former first ladies

A review of publicly reported interventions by previous Nigerian first ladies shows that they also carried out humanitarian and social welfare programmes, although the monetary value of many of their donations was either significantly lower or not publicly disclosed.

Former First Lady, Patience Jonathan, donated relief materials to internally displaced persons in the North-East in 2014, but no monetary value was announced. In 2017, she disclosed that her charity initiatives had spent more than N3.5bn on the treatment of over 700 children with heart diseases.

Similarly, former First Lady Aisha Buhari, through the Future Assured Programme, distributed food items to victims of insurgency in Borno State and vulnerable groups in Bauchi State, donated proceeds from her book to families of abducted Chibok schoolgirls, families of murdered Buni Yadi students and malnourished children in IDPs’ camps. She also supported several health and women empowerment programmes.

Mrs Buhari announced a N60m contribution to the Future Assured project in 2017 and established the Future Assured College in Maiduguri in 2021. However, the financial value of most of her interventions was not publicly disclosed.

I’m not spending gov’t money – First Lady

When contacted on the source and motivation for the donations, Special Adviser to the First Lady on Media, Busola Kukoyi, promised to get back to our correspondent with a summary on the request, but was yet to do so at the time of filing this report.

However, answering similar questions in the past, Kukoyi had said, “the motivation behind the First Lady’s donations is her increasing love for humanity and she believes that the most important thing is to build human beings. She feels the donations will affect human lives directly. She is a lover of humanity and that is what she has been doing all her life.”

According to her, “Many of the donations are under her Renewed Hope Initiative and on the source of funding, there is a governing board for the initiative where we have reputable men and women from all over the country.

“Also, there are friends of the Renewed Hope Initiative that believe in what she is doing.

“Well-meaning Nigerians are on the governing board and of course it is in the public space. Reputable business men and men of means, with credibility, they have been the ones donating to the Renewed Hope Initiative,” she had said.

Also, during the announcement of a N1bn donation to victims of attacks in Plateau State earlier, Mrs Tinubu said, ”Today, I have come with a donation of N1bn for the Renewed Hope Initiative. I do not have vast sums of money, but what I have is meant to bring life, not to pour money into a basket.

“Please understand that the money I have for this initiative is not government funds. It is money I have personally raised to help others. As I continue to travel and see the impact of our work, I ask for your prayers as we seek to make a lasting change.”

Similarly, while speaking in Kogi State, the First Lady disclosed that the National Nutrition Intervention Fund was launched with N3bn raised through donations, with businessman Tony Elumelu contributing an additional N1bn, while other individuals and organisations also supported the initiative.

She said, “I am not spending government money. I am spending money donated to me by different people. We started the nutrition fund with N3bn, and Tony Elumelu donated another N1bn. Others have also contributed to support the programme.”

Analysts, CSOs demand accountability

Analysts and public commentators who weighed in on the donations demanded the source of the funding of Mrs Tinubu’s initiative and how the funds were being utilised.

Dr Jide Ojo, a public affairs analyst and development consultant, opined that for accountability, the office of the First Lady should be institutionalised.

Ojo told Weekend Trust that the National Assembly should amend the office to make it official, so there can be a budget line, and donations and projects undertaken can be tracked for probity.

He said, “Sincerely speaking, I am bothered and very concerned, as much as I appreciate the nobility of the Office of the First Lady. It is a noble gesture to help humanity to support welfare projects, to assist her husband to succeed in governance.

“But in as much as we have not officially institutionalised the Office of the First Lady, I have a gut feeling that this needs to be set right by our lawmakers. We need to amend the constitution to officially recognise the Office of First Lady both at the federal and state levels, so that they can have appropriate budgetary allocations that are accountable.”

Ojo said the funding of the Office of the First Lady is shrouded in opacity.

He stated, “It’s not just Senator Oluremi Tinubu. This happens under first ladies, including under Ibrahim Babangida during the military leadership that institutionalised or elevated the Office of First Lady to national and international prominence.

“From then to now, that office has been run with a high level of opacity. Like I said at the beginning, I appreciate the kind gestures, their interventions, the fact that these pet projects have impacted many Nigerians, but the funding has been opaque. How did the First Lady fund the Renewed Hope Initiative? How has she been funding it in the last three years?

“We have heard of very humongous donations across several pet projects, across several states in Nigeria, even her former school, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife; she donated N1bn to them, including some empowerment projects; the electric tricycles.”

Ojo noted that there is a need to amend the constitution to officially recognise the Office of the First Lady both at the national and the sub-national levels so Nigerians can demand accountability.

He added, “I’m not sure, for instance, there is anybody, whether the committee of the National Assembly, that is overseeing the Renewed Hope Initiative in terms of oversight. This is because there is no official budgetary allocation, to the best of my knowledge, and as I said, it is very concerning.

“So how is this funding coming? Is it from the money appropriated for the president’s office? How about accountability? How are we so sure that even these donations, when they are made, are judiciously and prudently managed?”

Comrade Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, Executive Director, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), also expressed concern over the increasing trend of huge donations announced by the Office of the First Lady.

Rafsanjani said the funding should be subject to an accountability framework, adding that while the initiative promotes women’s economic empowerment, cultural preservation and community development, “it must be guided by the principles of transparency, accountability, and constitutional governance.”

He, therefore, called on the First Lady, the Presidency and the relevant authorities to publicly “clarify the funding source and accountability framework for these donations,” adding that such clarification would reinforce public trust and demonstrate a commitment to openness in the management of resources associated with public office.

“We also encourage the National Assembly to continue strengthening legal and institutional safeguards that ensure all public expenditure, regardless of the office through which it is announced, is subject to constitutional oversight, transparent reporting, and independent audit.

“Nigeria’s democracy will be strengthened not only by generous interventions but by ensuring that every public financial commitment is anchored on the principles of legality, transparency, accountability and responsible governance.”

Rafsanjani argued that the Office of the First Lady is not a constitutionally established public office with an appropriated budget or statutory expenditure mandate and consequently, whenever substantial financial donations running into billions of naira are publicly announced under the auspices of that office, “legitimate questions arise regarding the source of the funds, the legal framework authorising such expenditures, and the accountability mechanisms governing them.”

“In a democratic society, transparency is not optional. Nigerians deserve to know whether the funds are from public resources, private donations, charitable foundations, or development partners. Which institution or entity is responsible for managing and disbursing the funds? What procurement, financial management and oversight processes will govern the utilisation of the money and how citizens can independently verify that the resources ultimately reach their intended beneficiaries?

“The increasing reliance on informal or extra-constitutional offices to undertake major public interventions also raises broader governance concerns. Nigeria’s Constitution establishes ministries, departments, agencies, and other statutory institutions with clearly defined mandates and accountability structures.

“Development interventions of this magnitude should ideally be implemented through legally recognised institutions that are subject to legislative oversight, independent audit, and public scrutiny,” he added.

‘First Lady’s philanthropy must satisfy transparency test’

The National President of the Association for Public Policy Analysis (APPA), Prince Okorie, questioned the source of the donations and argued that some of the interventions could have been deployed in ways that produce more sustainable benefits.

Referring to the recent N2bn donation for the development of Akwete weaving in Abia State, Okorie said, “How many of the women involved in Akwete production would get that money? Even if they do, how much would get to them and what would be the value of the money? Nigerians deserve better.”

The Nigeria Country Director of Accountability Lab, Friday Odeh, said the pattern of large public donations by the First Lady exposed what he described as deep weaknesses in Nigeria’s accountability system.

“Nigeria’s accountability design clearly has a structural blind spot which limits the powers to probe presidency-connected actions which are concentrated in the presidency itself. Therefore, anti-corruption agencies will rarely move against a president’s wife. That impunity has normalized a culture where unexplained wealth goes unquestioned, and young Nigerians absorb the lesson that visible affluence, not visible income, is what earns respect,” he said.

Odeh noted that though the First Lady has spearheaded several interventions through the Renewed Hope Initiative, there are questions over the funding structure behind the publicly announced donations.

He said, “Remi Tinubu holds no publicly declared business interest and runs no registered foundation. It is only the Renewed Hope Initiative – a presidential-spouse vehicle with large political backing without constitutional footing, yet contributions run into billions of naira. This includes her own pledges with corporate and government money channeled through her unconstitutional Office of the First Lady.

“In a functioning accountability system, that scale of disbursement by an unelected, non-statutory office would trigger EFCC/ICPC scrutiny of both the funding sources and the disbursement, as standard practice, given she doesn’t run a philanthropic organisation. The EFCC and ICPC have not moved an inch on this.”

Odeh argued that the focus should shift from charitable donations to institutional reforms capable of delivering lasting improvements in citizens’ welfare.

He said, “The president’s wife needs to contribute to fixing and making governance work for all Nigerians equally, not by donations but ensuring the same system that benefits her and the husband/ family equally benefits the groups and communities in sustainable ways. These donations have no long-term effect except as a bargaining chip for the 2027 elections.”

He demanded legal and institutional reforms to improve transparency around fundraising and public donations by occupants of the Office of the First Lady.

The Chancellor of the International Society for Social Justice and Human Rights (ISSJHR), Comrade Omenazu Jackson, called for greater transparency over the funding sources behind the donations, arguing that while philanthropy should be encouraged, it must be accompanied by accountability and constitutional compliance.

Jackson said the recent intervention for the Akwete Development Initiative in Abia State, alongside several other multi-billion-naira donations announced since the inauguration of the Tinubu administration, had generated legitimate public interest regarding the origin and management of the funds.

According to him, charitable interventions are commendable because they complement government efforts to improve the welfare of citizens. However, he argued that in a constitutional democracy, philanthropy associated with holders of public office or members of the First Family must also satisfy the tests of transparency, accountability and legality.

He noted that public confidence is sustained not only by acts of generosity but also by openness regarding the source and administration of the resources used to finance such interventions.

Jackson said it is entirely legitimate for Nigerians to seek clarification whenever substantial financial donations are publicly announced under the auspices of the Office of the First Lady or any of its affiliated initiatives.

He said several questions remained unanswered, including whether the donations were funded from Mrs Tinubu’s personal income, investments, pensions, savings or other legitimate private sources; whether they were financed through a duly registered charitable foundation supported by voluntary donations from individuals and corporate organisations; whether grants from development partners or philanthropic institutions funded the interventions; whether any ministry, department or agency contributed financially or materially to the initiatives; and, if public resources were involved, the legal authority under which such expenditures were made.

According to Jackson, raising those questions should not be interpreted as making allegations against the First Lady but as legitimate inquiries arising from constitutional principles of accountability, transparency and prudent public financial management.

He cited the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007, particularly Section 1, which establishes a legal framework for prudent management of public resources and promotes accountability, transparency and long-term macroeconomic stability in public finance.

He said the objectives of the law reflected the constitutional expectation that public resources must always be managed openly and responsibly.

He also referred to Sections 80, 81 and 120 of the Constitution, which regulate the withdrawal and appropriation of public funds by requiring legislative approval before public money can be spent. According to him, those constitutional safeguards reinforce the principle that government resources cannot be expended without lawful authority and legislative oversight.

He further cited Sections 1(1) and 2 of the Freedom of Information Act, 2011, which guarantee citizens the right to access records held by public institutions and require public institutions to proactively publish information relating to their finances, organisation and operations.

He argued that where any public institution provides financial, administrative, logistical or other material support to programmes undertaken by the Office of the First Lady or any affiliated foundation, Nigerians are entitled under the Constitution and the Freedom of Information Act to seek clarification regarding the legal basis, funding source and accountability mechanisms governing such support.

Jackson maintained that if the donations were instead funded entirely from the First Lady’s personal wealth or through a privately financed and lawfully administered charitable foundation, providing a clear public explanation would strengthen public confidence and dispel unnecessary speculation.

According to him, transparency protects not only the donor but also the integrity of public institutions.

”At a time when Nigeria is grappling with inflation, rising public debt, unemployment, and significant fiscal pressures, every institution connected with the government should embrace the highest standards of accountability. Public trust is earned through openness, not secrecy,” he said.

Jackson maintained that asking questions about the source and management of significant public-facing donations should not be viewed as hostility but as the exercise of a constitutional right and civic responsibility.

”In every democracy governed by the rule of law, accountability is not optional; it is indispensable,” he said. (Daily trust)