The first lady, Oluremi Tinubu, has reemphasized the need to give more attention to the elderly.
She was speaking while receiving the wife of the Akwa Ibom State governor, Mrs Patience Eno in her office at the State House, Abuja.
In a statement by her media aide, Busola Kukoyi, Oluremi Tinubu noted that the elderly have paid their dues in life and deserve to be taken care of in their old age.
“It is easy to bypass them, so to speak, because their voice is no longer loud. They need our attention.
“I commend the Akwa Ibom State Governor Eno for buying into the vision of the Renewed Hope Initiative Elderly Support Scheme, RHIESS,” she said.
The first lady used the opportunity to congratulate the governor for his victory at the Supreme Court, upholding him as Governor of Akwa Ibom State.
“It is now time to work fully. Let us put politics behind and face governance,” she said.
Earlier, her guest, the wife of the Akwa Ibom State governor, Pastor (Mrs) Patience Eno explained that she was at the State House to update the first lady on the RHIESS.
“My husband the governor has decided to adopt the RHIESS programme as initiated by you and says that it would now be a monthly programme. He recognizes that it is a highly laudable one and it really brings joy and hope to the elderly,” she said.
The wife of the governor stated that Akwa Ibom State will now host 500 elderly, aged 65 years and above every month and give them N50,000 in addition to giving them other items and having free medical checks.
It would be recalled that the first lady through the Renewed Hope Initiative had on the 21st of December held the maiden edition of the elderly Support Scheme, RHIESS nationwide, where 250 elderly per state, the FCT and the Veterans of the Armed Forces aged 65years and above were given N100,000 each with other items and medical checks.