Osun First Lady, APC women leader clash over grant distribution

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Titilola Adeleke, the First Lady of Osun State, has denied the accusations made by Alhaja Kudirat Fakokunde, the Women Leader of the Osun All Progressives Congress (APC), about the allocation of a grant for business development.

According to information obtained by ZINGTIE, the APC in Osun State accused Titilayo Adeleke, the state governor’s wife, of undervaluing its female members when it came to allocating a business support grant that Nigeria’s First Lady Oluremi Tinubu had started.

Through the Tony Elumelu Foundation and Tinubu’s Renewed Hope program, the project seeks to empower women at the grassroots level nationwide.

At least 200 businesswomen in Osun, selected from the state’s 332 wards, were awarded the grant; each recipient earned N50,000 to expand their enterprises.

Osun APC Women Leader Kudiratu Fakokunde claimed at the presentation at the Tinubu/Shettima campaign office in Osogbo that the governor’s wife purposefully decreased their places in spite of her request for a higher quota.

Adewale Adeleke, the Osun First Lady’s chief press secretary, however, called the accusation “false, unfounded, and misleading” in a statement released on Sunday.

According to the statement, “the distribution of the empowerment grant was carried out transparently and equitably. Prior to the exercise, Mrs. Adeleke and Alhaja Fakokunde reportedly agreed on the modalities of sharing.

“It is rather unfortunate that such blatant lies could come from Alhaja Fakokunde, whom I respect so much.

“She was in my office a day before the distribution exercise where we both agreed on the modalities of sharing. At no point were APC women short-changed.

“An agreement had been reached for 200 APC women to directly benefit from the scheme, while the remaining 300 slots were allocated to grassroots traders and other Osun women across political lines.”

Adeleke has continuously shown justice and inclusivity by providing empowerment programs to women regardless of their political affiliation, the statement emphasized.

“In the history of Osun State, it is unprecedented that the wife of a sitting governor will deliberately accommodate women from the opposition party in state-wide empowerment programmes.

“This alone testifies to the fact that the First Lady is God-fearing, accommodating, and peace-loving,” the statement added.

“Such allegations risked undermining genuine efforts aimed at improving the livelihoods of women across Osun through partnerships with government institutions and private foundations.

“The Office of the First Lady assured the public that it would continue to collaborate with relevant stakeholders to provide life-changing opportunities for women across the state without bias or discrimination,” it concluded.

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