A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State, Seye Oladejo, has defended Senator Oluremi Tinubu over recent criticism of her remarks encouraging beneficiaries of the Renewed Hope Initiative to consider small businesses, accusing social media commentators of deliberately distorting her message for political advantage.
In a statement titled “The First Lady’s Harmless Admonition and the Politics of Content Creation,” Oladejo said the First Lady’s comments had been taken out of context by “content merchants” seeking to generate outrage rather than promote informed public debate.
According to him, Senator Tinubu was not presenting the Federal Government’s economic agenda but addressing beneficiaries of a social intervention programme that provides grants—not loans—to support vulnerable Nigerians in establishing income-generating businesses requiring relatively low start-up capital.
Oladejo argued that the First Lady’s references to ventures such as frying akara, roasting corn and producing kuli-kuli were merely illustrative examples of how beneficiaries could put the grants to productive use, rather than prescriptions for national economic policy.
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He maintained that there was nothing degrading about such occupations, noting that countless Nigerian families had built sustainable livelihoods through small-scale enterprises, with many professionals attributing their education and success to parents engaged in similar businesses.
The APC chieftain further criticised what he described as the growing tendency to interpret every public remark by members of the First Family as official government policy, stressing that the First Lady’s role as an advocate for social causes should not be confused with the Federal Government’s broader economic reforms and employment strategies.
While affirming that citizens have the right to criticise public officials, Oladejo said such criticism should be based on facts rather than deliberate misrepresentatio
