President Bola Tinubu on Thursday playfully referred to the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, as “Iya Alakara” during the Presidential Press Corps Dinner at the State House in Abuja.

The remark appeared to be a humorous reference to the recent controversy surrounding the First Lady’s comments encouraging Nigerian women to consider small-scale businesses such as selling akara.

A video shared by Aso Rock TV showed the President smiling as he acknowledged guests before introducing his wife.

“Good evening, gentlemen of the press, ladies and gentlemen, my dear wife, the First Lady, Iya Alakara,” Tinubu said, drawing laughter from the audience.

The comment comes weeks after Oluremi Tinubu, speaking under the Renewed Hope Initiative’s economic empowerment programme, urged women to explore small businesses including selling akara, roasted corn and kuli-kuli, saying such ventures require little capital to start.

Her remarks sparked criticism on social media, with many Nigerians arguing that they did not reflect the economic realities facing millions of citizens amid rising living costs.

The First Lady later clarified that the programme was not limited to akara sellers but was designed to support a wide range of petty traders.

Speaking during the inauguration of the newly constructed Abubakar Maje Haruna Hall at the Emir of Hadejia’s Palace in Jigawa State, she disclosed that the Federal Government had provided ₦100 million to empower 2,000 small-scale traders in the state.

“Because of the atmosphere, what is going on, I’ve told Her Excellency that we’ve already given, donated about 100 million to her to use to empower 2,000 petty traders,” she said.

Addressing the backlash over her earlier comments, the First Lady said the initiative covers different categories of traders.

“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,” she said.

She added that the programme is aimed at strengthening small businesses through financial support to help traders expand and sustain their livelihoods.

“We will continue to empower them and add to their resources so that their trade can really be sustainable. So that is what we are doing,” she said.