RHI/NITDA ICT Training 2025: NAOWA President Joins First Lady, Other Dignitaries At Closing Ceremony, As Two NAOWA Nominees Benefit

RHI/NITDA ICT Training 2025: NAOWA President Joins First Lady, Other Dignitaries At Closing Ceremony, As Two NAOWA Nominees Benefit

The President of the Nigerian Army Officers’ Wives Association (NAOWA), Mrs Safiyyah Hassan Shaibu, joined several other distinguished guests on Thursday, 20 November 2025, at the State House Banquet Hall, Abuja, for the Closing Ceremony of the 2025 Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI)/NITDA ICT Training and Women Empowerment Programme, where two NAOWA nominees, Mrs Amina Lawal and Mrs Khadijah Yahaya, were among 320 women who successfully completed the rigorous digital skills programme.

The event, hosted by Her Excellency, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, CON, First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, marked the conclusion of an intensive digital capacity-building programme designed to equip women with practical ICT skills and enhance their participation in the nation’s rapidly expanding digital economy.

In her keynote address, the First Lady urged the beneficiaries to apply their newly acquired knowledge, pursue continuous self-development, and serve as mentors to other women and girls in their communities. She described the 2025 participants as “ambassadors of digital literacy” who now play a crucial role in driving innovation and expanding economic opportunities across Nigeria.

Her Excellency highlighted the steady expansion of the programme since its inception, noting that the 2023 pioneer class inspired the 2024 cohort of 252 Digital Literacy Champions, while the 2025 edition successfully trained 320 women from Bauchi, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Imo, Edo, and Ondo States, as well as the FCT, alongside an additional set of 40 stakeholders.

She reaffirmed that the collaboration between NITDA and the RHI supports the economic empowerment pillar of RHI and aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s national agenda to accelerate economic diversification through industrialization and digitalization.

Earlier, the Director-General of NITDA, Mallam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, commended the First Lady’s commitment to advancing digital inclusion, noting that the programme forms part of Nigeria’s broader strategy to achieve 70% digital literacy by 2027. He disclosed that over 1.1 million Nigerians have been trained in digital skills since 2023, with the RHI/NITDA women-focused initiative alone empowering 607 women to date.

Participants were trained in device and software use, data literacy, content creation, digital marketing, online safety, problem-solving, and fundamental knowledge of the gig economy.

In attendance at the colourful occasion were the wives of senior government officials, including the wife of the Deputy Senate President, the wife of the Chief of Staff to the President, several state First Ladies, and the wives of ministers.

Also present were the wives of the service chiefs, including the President DEPOWA and wife of the Chief of Defence Staff, Mrs Mernan Femi Oluyede; the President NAOWA and wife of the Chief of Army Staff, Mrs Safiyyah Hassan Shaibu; the President NOWA and wife of the Chief of Naval Staff, Mrs Aisha Abbas; the President NAFOWA and wife of the Chief of Air Staff, Mrs Ngozi Aneke; and the President POWA and wife of the Inspector-General of Police, Dr Mrs Elizabeth Egbetokun, among others.

Highlights of the event included goodwill messages, presentation of certificates and empowerment packages, and a group photograph session.