'My dear wife, the First Lady, Iya Alakara': Tinubu jokes at press corps dinner (see video)

• President Bola Tinubu jokingly called First Lady Oluremi Tinubu "Iya Alakara" during the Presidential Press Corps Dinner.

• The nickname references the backlash over her comments encouraging vulnerable Nigerians to start businesses like frying akara and roasting corn.

• Oluremi Tinubu had earlier defended her remarks, saying her empowerment programme also supports tomato sellers, bole vendors, vegetable and pepper traders.

• The President's joke has reignited conversations online, with Nigerians divided over whether it was harmless humour or poorly timed amid economic hardship.

President Bola Tinubu has joined in on one of the internet's biggest conversations of the week, and this time, he did it with a joke.

Speaking at the annual Presidential Press Corps Dinner in Abuja on Thursday, the President playfully referred to First Lady Oluremi Tinubu as "Iya Alakara," a nickname that has become popular online after her recent remarks about helping Nigerians start small businesses like frying akara and roasting corn.

Introducing his wife at the event, Tinubu said: "My dear wife, the First Lady, Iya Alakara."

The comment immediately got laughter from guests at the dinner and was widely seen as the Presidency acknowledging the social media storm that followed the First Lady's earlier comments.

The nickname became popular after Oluremi Tinubu, while speaking during the second-quarter meeting of the Renewed Hope Initiative with wives of the 36 state governors in Abuja, explained that her office gives grants—not loans—to vulnerable Nigerians to help them start businesses.

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She had said: "We're trying to give hope, and to start the Akara business doesn't take a lot of money. To start roasting corn, or somebody even said Kulikuli, doesn't take much. We didn't give them a loan; we gave it to them as a grant."

While the statement was meant to highlight low-cost businesses that beneficiaries could start, many Nigerians felt it failed to reflect the reality of the country's rising cost of living, inflation and unemployment. The comments quickly went viral, with many social media users mocking the advice and creating memes around "akara business."

Following the backlash, the First Lady addressed the issue again while speaking at the commissioning of the Abubakar Maje Haruna Hall inside the Emir of Hadejia's Palace in Jigawa State.

She insisted her empowerment programmes are not limited to akara sellers. According to her, "And I know they've been talking that I said akara. It's not just akara; we also have tomato sellers. We have bole, and those selling pepper, selling vegetables for us in the market, we'll continue to empower them, add to their resources so that their trade can really be sustainable."

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She explained that the Renewed Hope Initiative supports different categories of petty traders by providing grants aimed at helping them grow sustainable businesses.

Tinubu's "Iya Alakara" remark has already sparked another round of reactions online.

Some Nigerians said the joke shows the Presidency is fully aware of how much attention the First Lady's comments received, while others argued that making light of the issue may not sit well with citizens still battling economic hardship.

Either way, one thing is certain: "Iya Alakara" has now officially made its way from social media straight into Aso Rock.