Remi Tinubu Honoured as Oso Di Eme I in Imo as South-East Visit Sparks 2027 Debate

Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has received the traditional chieftaincy title of “Oso Di Eme I” of Imo State during her ongoing engagement with communities in the South-East.

The honour was conferred on Wednesday, September 9, during her visit to Owerri, where she was received by traditional rulers and participated in a women’s empowerment programme.

According to the First Lady’s Senior Special Adviser on Media, Busola Kukoyi, “Oso Di Eme I” means “she who supports her husband.”

Kukoyi described the title as recognition of Mrs Tinubu’s role alongside President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The ceremony was attended by several traditional rulers and political figures, including Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma.

Photographs from the event showed the First Lady dressed in traditional attire, wearing coral beads and holding a ceremonial fan bearing the inscription “OSO DI EME.”

The title comes several months after Mrs Tinubu was reportedly honoured in Enugu with the traditional title “Ugosimba I,” translated as “Jewel of Empowerment.”

Her latest South-East visit has combined traditional engagement with government-backed social and economic programmes.

In Imo State, 2,500 women reportedly benefited from empowerment support, including business equipment and financial assistance.

The wider South-East programme involved beneficiaries from the five states and included equipment such as generators, grinding machines, gas cookers with ovens and industrial grinding machines.

But the visit also carried an unmistakable political dimension.

During an empowerment event in Owerri, Mrs Tinubu appealed to voters in the South-East to support President Tinubu's bid for a second term in 2027.

She told the gathering that she wanted to see a better Nigeria in her old age and urged voters to support her husband's administration.

Channels Television reported that she asked voters to support the President's re-election while speaking at the women’s empowerment event.

The timing has made the chieftaincy title particularly interesting politically.

The South-East remains an important battleground ahead of the 2027 presidential election, with President Tinubu facing opposition contenders including Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi.

For supporters of the administration, the traditional recognition is being presented as evidence of growing engagement and acceptance in the region.

For critics, however, the title and the political messaging surrounding the visit have prompted questions about the relationship between traditional institutions, government programmes and electoral politics.

What are people saying on X?

The reaction on X has been mixed.

Some users have focused on the cultural significance of the honour, sharing photographs and congratulatory messages following the conferment.

Other posts have looked beyond the ceremony itself and connected the title to the wider political contest ahead of 2027.

The discussion has particularly focused on the fact that the title was presented as “she who supports her husband,” while Mrs Tinubu was simultaneously appealing for support for President Tinubu's second-term bid.

Some political commentators therefore view the visit as part of a broader effort by the presidency to strengthen its relationship with the South-East ahead of the election.

Others argue that the traditional honour should be viewed primarily as a cultural recognition and should not automatically be interpreted as evidence of political support across the entire region.

Importantly, social-media reactions should not be treated as a scientific measure of public opinion.

The posts circulating online represent individual users and political camps, and there is no reliable evidence from the available X discussion showing that the region as a whole has reached a particular conclusion about the title.

The wider South-East tour

The Imo ceremony was only one part of Mrs Tinubu's South-East engagement.

On Thursday, she travelled to Anambra State, where she launched the South-East phase of the National Community Food Bank Programme.

The programme is designed to provide food and nutrition support to vulnerable Nigerians, including widows, elderly people, people living with disabilities, nursing mothers and vulnerable children.

Anambra officials said screening, verification and enrolment of potential beneficiaries had already begun ahead of the launch.

The combination of traditional recognition, women’s empowerment, food security initiatives and political messaging has made the First Lady's visit one of the more politically significant presidential engagements in the South-East this week.

For President Tinubu's administration, the challenge will be turning these engagements into sustained political goodwill.

For opposition parties, the developments will likely increase pressure to strengthen their own organisation and messaging in the region ahead of 2027.

For now, the “Oso Di Eme I” title has become more than a traditional honour.

It has become part of a broader conversation about culture, government programmes, political outreach and the battle for votes ahead of Nigeria's next presidential election.

Key Facts:

• First Lady Oluremi Tinubu was conferred with the title “Oso Di Eme I” in Imo State.

• The title was translated by her media aide as “she who supports her husband.”

• The conferment took place in Owerri during her South-East tour.

• Imo traditional rulers participated in the ceremony.

• The honour follows her earlier “Ugosimba I” title in Enugu.

• The First Lady's visit also featured an empowerment programme for women and vulnerable people.

• Reports said 2,500 women in Imo benefited from the programme.

• Mrs Tinubu appealed to South-East voters to support President Tinubu's 2027 re-election.

• Her visit subsequently continued to Anambra, where she launched the South-East phase of the National Community Food Bank Programme.

• Reactions on X have included both cultural support and political debate.

• Social-media reactions should not be treated as representative of the entire South-East.

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Channels Television

Vanguard

TELL Magazine

The Nation

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