The First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has defended her earlier comments on small-scale businesses, saying the Federal Government’s empowerment programmes extend beyond akara sellers to include traders in tomatoes, pepper, vegetables and roasted plantain.

Tinubu spoke on Monday during the inauguration of the newly constructed Abubakar Maje Haruna Hall at the Emir of Hadejia’s Palace in Jigawa State, according to a video aired by TVC News.

Her remarks come days after comments she made about akara, roasted corn and kuli-kuli businesses sparked widespread backlash on social media, with many Nigerians accusing her of trivialising the country’s economic hardship.

Addressing the criticism directly, the First Lady said the Federal Government had donated N100m to the Jigawa State Government to empower 2,000 petty 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.

“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. So that is what we are doing,” she said.

Tinubu said the beneficiaries would each receive N50,000 to recapitalise their businesses.

“We continue to carry the capacity. We have the amount of 2,000 women who are already in small businesses. They will recapitalise their businesses with the N50,000 each. We’ve already given the N100 million,” she added.

She maintained that the criticism trailing her earlier remarks would not deter the government from its empowerment programmes.

“I know all those people who are affected, they do appreciate it. And we are not intimidated by all those wrong reports. But we are forging ahead and making sure that our people, you know, are well cared for,” Mrs Tinubu said.

The First Lady also spoke about Nigeria’s untapped resources, citing an orange orchard she visited in Benue State, and expressed hope that young Nigerians would explore opportunities beyond oil.

“Nigeria is a really blessed country. I’ve been travelling, and I pray that our young people will see the resources we have in this nation. We have not even gone to explore yet because we are thinking it’s oil. But there are so many things,” she said.

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Nigeria imported an average of two million barrels of crude oil from Libya, the first of such imports from the North African country ever. Dangote Petroleum Refinery is the major importer of crude into Nigeria.

The import comes amid the high export of crude locally produced in Nigeria to other countries, leaving local refineries with no option but to seek feedstock elsewhere.

Libya Review, a local media outlet in the country, reports that Libya’s crude oil exports reached a new milestone after Nigeria imported Libyan oil for the first time on record, highlighting the growing role of Libyan supplies in regional energy markets amid ongoing disruptions to global trade flows.

According to data published by the Energy Research Unit, Nigeria imported around 64,500 barrels per day of Libyan crude in May 2026, equivalent to approximately two million barrels for the month.  “The shipment marks the first recorded Nigerian import of Libyan crude in available historical data dating back to 2013,” the report said.

Recall that there were reports in 2024 that the Dangote Petroleum Refinery was in talks with Libya for the purchase of crude oil. However, the Libyan oil corporation denied negotiating or entering into talks regarding the crude oil supply to any Nigerian refinery.

The statement, written in Arabic in 2024, translates, “The National Oil Corporation denies that it has negotiated or entered into any talks regarding the supply of crude oil to an oil refinery in Nigeria.”

The National Oil Corporation also confirmed then that it was committed to its contracts with its international partners and committed to the legal mechanism for selling Libyan oil raw materials and that it did not work with an immediate sales mechanism.

“In addition, the process of determining raw material prices is carried out through a committee of experts and is approved by the corporation and the Ministry of Oil and Gas,” Libya said in July 2024.

But it appears the agreement has finally been concluded with the supply of 2 million barrels to the Dangote refinery in just one month. By ramping up capacity to 700,000 barrels per day and eyeing 1.4 million barrels per day in 2028, the Dangote refinery is increasingly in need of feedstock from multiple sources.

In 2026, the refinery has already imported cargoes of Angola’s Cabinda and Saxi Batuque crudes, Ghana’s Jubilee crude and, for the first time, Libyan and Guyanese supplies, all of the light sweet or medium sweet variety, according to S&P Global Energy data.

In Nigeria, local refiners have consistently complained of insufficient crude supply due to higher exports. Nigeria exported an estimated 148.9 million barrels of crude oil valued at about N20.22tn in the first five months of 2026, showcasing the scale of the country’s oil export despite persistent concerns over the domestic crude supply obligation.

The crude barrels were exported by both international and indigenous oil companies, including the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.

The figures obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria indicate that the total volume of crude oil produced by the country during the five-month review period in 2026 was 216.85 million barrels, out of which about 149 million barrels were exported.

Overall, Nigeria exported about 68.7 per cent of the crude oil it produced during the five months, leaving roughly 67.95 million barrels available for domestic refining, storage, operational use, and inventory adjustments.

The import of crude from Libya is coming as international oil markets continue to adjust to supply disruptions linked to the US-Iran conflict and the resulting challenges affecting energy shipments through the Gulf region. These conditions, it was learnt, have allowed Libyan crude to expand its presence in both African and European markets.

Libya is also strengthening energy ties with neighbouring countries while also competing with Nigeria for major oil investors.

It was gathered that Egypt imported approximately 33,000 barrels per day of Libyan crude in April 2026, following imports of 57,000 barrels per day in February. The purchases marked Egypt’s first imports of Libyan crude since 2019 and form part of efforts to secure alternative supplies following agreements to import more than one million barrels per month from Libya.

Tunisia also increased purchases of Libyan crude during 2026, importing around 19,000 barrels per day in March and 10,000 barrels per day in May, despite only occasionally buying Libyan oil in previous years.

Italy remained Libya’s largest customer, importing 348,000 barrels per day in May, accounting for roughly one-third of total Libyan crude exports. Greece, Spain and Turkey followed among the leading buyers of Libyan oil.

The Dangote refinery recently purchased two cargoes of crude oil from the United Arab Emirates, marking its first-ever procurement of Middle Eastern crude as it expands its feedstock sources amid persistent domestic supply constraints.

According to a report by S&P Global Commodity Insights, the two cargoes will be the first sourced by the refinery from any Middle Eastern supplier, signalling a shift from its traditional reliance on Nigerian, African, and United States crude grades.

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