Laughter in Aso Rock as Tinubu Nicknames Wife “Iya Alakara”

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Thursday stirred laughter at the Presidential Press Corps Dinner in Abuja when he jokingly referred to the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, as “Iya Alakara”—a playful nod to the recent public debate surrounding her comments on small‑scale businesses.

The moment, captured in a video shared by Aso Rock TV on YouTube, showed the President smiling warmly as he acknowledged dignitaries before turning to his wife. “Good evening, gentlemen of the press, ladies and gentlemen, my dear wife, the First Lady, Iya Alakara,” he said, drawing reactions from the audience.

The nickname comes days after the First Lady encouraged Nigerian women to consider petty‑trade ventures such as selling akara, roasted corn, kuli‑kuli, tomatoes, pepper, vegetables and other small‑scale items under the Renewed Hope Initiative’s empowerment programme. She had noted that such businesses “don’t take much money” to start.

Her remarks sparked widespread reactions on social media, with critics describing the comment as insensitive to Nigeria’s economic realities. Many argued that the suggestion trivialised the hardship faced by citizens struggling with rising living costs.

ValidViewNetwork reports that Senator Oluremi Tinubu later clarified her position during the inauguration of the newly constructed Abubakar Maje Haruna Hall at the Emir of Hadejia’s Palace in Jigawa State. She emphasised that the empowerment programme was not limited to akara sellers but extended to a wide range of petty traders.

ADVERTISEMENT

Addressing the controversy directly, the First Lady disclosed that the Federal Government had donated N100 million to the Jigawa State Government to support 2,000 petty traders across the state.

“And I know they’ve been talking that I said akara. It’s not only akara, we also have tomato sellers. We have boole, and those also selling pepper, selling vegetables for us in the market. We will continue to empower them and add to their resources so that their trade can really be sustainable,” she said.

ValidViewNetwork reports that the First Lady reaffirmed the administration’s commitment to grassroots economic support, insisting that petty traders remain an essential part of Nigeria’s informal economy and deserve structured empowerment.