— Defends First lady over Akara, groundnut remark
By Dayo Johnson Akure
Former Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) governorship candidate in Ondo State, Abass Mimiko, has said that attacks on First Lady Oluremi Tinubu over her “small business” advice are politically motivated.
Mimiko tied the backlash against the First Lady to resistance against President Tinubu’s economic reforms.
Speaking with members of the Correspondents Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Akure, he described the controversy as “unnecessary” and driven by mischief.
He said that opposition elements deliberately twisted the First Lady’s call for Nigerians to explore petty trading like groundnuts and kulikuli sales to score points against President Tinubu.
“This is mischief. The elite and the opposition are making a mountain out of nothing,”he said.
Abass, younger brother of former Ondo Governor Olusegun Mimiko, said the First Lady’s remarks were “deliberately misrepresented” by the political elite to discredit the administration.
“The elite and the opposition to her husband are trying to make a mountain out of this. Oluremi Tinubu is not an elected public office holder.
“She is just trying her best through the Renewed Hope Initiative to support her husband’s agenda. She has done a decent job, in fact an excellent job,” Mimiko said.
He argued that the primary role of the First Lady is to support the President and ensure stability at home while he governs.
“If you ask me, the primary job of the First Lady is to be handler-in-chief of the home front of the Commander-in-Chief. She is to keep our President safe, well cared for, healthy and happy.
“We cannot quantify the value of that. If she is doing anything extra, we should appreciate her,”* he stated.
Mimiko said President Tinubu was taking tough decisions to rescue Nigeria from “economic, political and social bankruptcy,” citing fuel subsidy removal and reforms in oil revenue accountability as steps that have unsettled powerful interests.
*“You don’t remove fuel subsidy, you don’t tell everybody that proceeds from crude oil must go into NNPC accounts before export without stepping on powerful toes.
“There are powerful syndicates, local and international, that are offended by all of these,” he said.
He praised the First Lady’s Renewed Hope Initiative for its interventions in healthcare, women empowerment and humanitarian support.
He cited contributions to breast cancer prevention, tuberculosis control, assistance to widows and orphans of military personnel, food and nutrition programmes for vulnerable Nigerians, and initiatives to expand opportunities for women.
Mimiko insisted those achievements deserved more public attention than the controversy over her recent remarks.
