Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has unveiled a roadmap for a National Community Food Bank Programme, urging state governors to establish functional food banks in each of their three senatorial districts to tackle food insecurity and malnutrition.
Tinubu made the announcement during the launch and distribution of food items under the Renewed Hope Initiative’s Food Outreach Scheme in Katsina State on Friday, October 16, 2026, where she also called for stronger collaboration between federal and state governments to support vulnerable households.
Represented at the event by Hajiya Nana Shettima, the First Lady said the nationwide roadmap had been completed as part of broader efforts to address food shortages, child malnutrition and the nutritional needs of pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers.
“As part of our broader efforts to address food insecurity and malnutrition, I am pleased to announce the successful completion of the nationwide roadmap for our National Community Food Bank Programme, which is aimed at combating child malnutrition and supporting pregnant women and lactating mothers,” she said.
She urged governors to adopt the programme’s institutional framework and establish community food banks across their respective senatorial districts, stressing that federal and zonal interventions alone could not adequately address the scale of food insecurity and malnutrition.
The food outreach scheme was extended to Katsina as the 30th state to benefit, following distributions in 29 states and the Federal Capital Territory, according to the First Lady.
Tinubu disclosed that the initiative receives monthly supplies of two truckloads of food items from two donors. She identified one donor as the Abdul Samad Rabiu Africa Initiative, popularly known as BUA, while the other had chosen to remain anonymous.
She expressed appreciation to both donors for supporting vulnerable Nigerians and announced that Osun, Ogun and Akwa Ibom states were next in line to benefit from the food outreach programme.
The food items were handed over for distribution to vulnerable residents across Katsina State during the event at People’s Square, Government House, Katsina.
Governor Dikko Umaru Radda urged beneficiaries to use the donated food items to feed their families rather than sell them, saying the intervention was intended to ease hardship and protect the dignity of vulnerable households.
“Please make good use of the food items being provided. Do not sell them. Use them to feed your families, because that is the purpose for which they are being distributed,” Radda said.
He described the programme as more than a food distribution exercise, saying it demonstrated a commitment to supporting Nigerians facing economic difficulties.
“This programme is not just about the distribution of food items. It is about dignity. It is about the Federal Government reaching out to the poorest of the poor and assuring them that they are not forgotten,” the governor added.
Radda thanked the First Lady for extending the intervention to Katsina, noting that cooperation between the federal and state governments was necessary to address hardship and improve citizens’ welfare.
He said his administration’s Building Your Future Agenda combined immediate relief measures with long-term investments in education, agriculture, healthcare and security.
On education, the governor said his administration had constructed 170 junior and senior secondary schools, rehabilitated another 100 and established 30 smart schools equipped with robotics and artificial intelligence facilities. He added that more than 10,000 teachers had been recruited, while over 30,000 others had received training.
In agriculture, Radda cited the deployment of more than 400 tractors, 10 combine harvesters and thousands of planters, alongside irrigation and solar-powered interventions intended to improve productivity and support rural communities.
He also reported the revitalisation of more than 200 primary healthcare centres across the state’s 361 wards, the upgrading of some facilities to general hospitals and the expansion of dialysis services.
On security, the governor said the state had recruited more than 3,000 community watch personnel, procured over 20 armoured personnel carriers and strengthened surveillance and community-based security operations.
The Katsina State First Lady and state coordinator of the Renewed Hope Initiative, Hajiya Zulaihat Dikko Radda, said the programme complemented existing interventions for vulnerable residents across the state’s 34 local government areas.
She disclosed that more than ₦125m had been disbursed to 750 senior citizens under the Elderly Support Scheme over the past three years. She added that women entrepreneurs and petty traders had received business recapitalisation grants to strengthen their livelihoods.
She thanked the First Lady for bringing the food outreach scheme to Katsina and called for sustained cooperation among government institutions, development partners and other stakeholders to expand social protection.
The event was attended by wives of governors from Kaduna, Sokoto, Kebbi, Kano, Zamfara and Jigawa states, alongside the Katsina State Deputy Governor, Faruk Lawal Jobe, members of the state executive council, lawmakers, government officials, community leaders and beneficiaries.
West Trybe reports that the proposed community food bank programme seeks to move food assistance beyond occasional distributions towards a more structured system of support for vulnerable households. Its impact will depend on how effectively state governments establish the banks, identify beneficiaries and maintain reliable food supplies, particularly for children, pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers and low-income families.
