1st January, 2024
By Taiwo Okanlawon
First Lady Oluremi Tinubu, on Monday, welcomed the first baby of the year, Boluwatife Johnson, at the National Hospital in Abuja.
The Wife of the President also charged expectant mothers to prioritize their health and seek to know their HIV/AIDS status.
She said this would enable them to prevent mother-to-child transmission of the disease and help them stay healthy.
According to a statement issued by her spokesperson, Busola Kukoyi, the First Lady was speaking at the National Hospital, Abuja, where she welcomed the first baby of the year 2024 in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The baby Boluwatife Johnson was born at 12.03 am.
She appealed to well-meaning Nigerians to join forces with the government to adopt hospitals and wards to improve the healthcare delivery in the country, as the government alone cannot do it.
“I urge nursing mothers to take adequate care of their babies, ensure that they are immunized as and when due, practice exclusive breastfeeding, and provide them with adequate nutritious and healthy weaning food for their brain development.
“Expectant mothers should always take antenatal and postnatal care seriously, maintain basic hygiene at home, space their births, register their babies with the National Population Commission (NPC) and make efforts to enroll them in school at the appropriate age”, she advised.
The First Lady noted that her pet project, the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI), is working in collaboration with UNICEF to see that all births in Nigeria are registered in order to ensure the rights and protection of all children.
After visiting the baby boy, Boluwatife Johnson, the First Lady, visited other babies just born in the hospital, bearing gifts, and came across a set of conjoined twins.
After speaking with the Chief Medical Director of the National Hospital, she stated the willingness of the Renewed Hope Initiative, RHI, to lend a helping hand to facilitate the surgery to separate the twins.
The Chief Medical Director, Prof Mohammed Raji Mahmood, while expressing the appreciation of the hospital for the gesture, seized the opportunity to appeal for more help to sustain the legacy of the hospital.
Also with the First lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu was the wife of the Vice President, Hajia Nana Shettima, Minister of Women Affairs, Hon Uju Kennedy Ohaneye, wife of the minister for works, Mrs Umahi and the wife of the Minister of State for Defence, Mrs Bello Matawalle.