The Aliko Dangote Foundation on Wednesday gave the Lagos State government 80,000 10 kilogrammes bags of rice for immediate distribution to various segments of the vulnerable population across the state.
The intervention was part of the Foundation’s ongoing rollout of one million bags of 10kg rice to vulnerable families across the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, with Lagos taking the second largest share of the largesse.
The donation is expected to bolster the state’s interventions aimed at ameliorating the impacts of current hardship on vulnerable households in the state.
The state Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who personally received the rice described the gesture as an “extreme act of kindness”.
He noted that Dangote had always stood out as a “unique breed of citizen” enamoured with love and compassion for the downtrodden.
“For extending this gesture of love and kindness to the needy and vulnerable people in the country, Alhaji Dangote has shown that he is a Nigerian that has chosen to be different. The trait of Dangote’s humanity is not just living in his body; he has, by this huge intervention, openly demonstrated the trait of human kindness he possesses in no small measure.
“The donation of 80,000 units of 10kg bags of rice demonstrates that philosophy of the Foundation. This is extending empathy to those in need of little assistance in these difficult times. This direct intervention translates to compassion and goes beyond the pursuit of only profit and wealth. This is a period the Government and private sector need to take joint action to ameliorate the pains being experienced by citizens due to inflation,” the governor said.
Sanwo-Olu said the supplies would shore up the state-led interventions and help to alleviate the food shortage caused by inflation.
According to him, Lagos would be distributing 100,000 combo boxes of food items to thousands of households free of charge, urging private organisations to emulate the Dangot’s gesture and support the ongoing efforts by the state to ramp up its interventions.
He said: “We have also secured 100,000 units of combo food packs for distribution to various segments of vulnerable communities in the State. We are finalising the logistics for the delivery. This is in addition to the weekly supply of discounted food items to various community markets.
“We embark on these initiatives in order to accommodate and assist the majority of the population cope in this period. I thank Lagosians for their patience and demonstration of resilience despite the challenges we are all passing through. When we work together, we will come out of this situation better and stronger.”
The Chairman of Aliko Dangote Group and Africa’s richest man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, who was accompanied by his billionaire associate, Mr. Femi Otedola, and daughter, Ms. Fatimah Dangote, to fulfil the corporate social responsibility, said as part of the Foundation’s intervention, 200,000 metric tons of rice has been reserved for distribution across the 774 Local Government Areas in the country.
He said: “We recognise that the current circumstances where a significant number of Nigerians are experiencing hardship due to prevailing food prices inflation requires that we, the Dangote Foundation, provide succour for those affected. That is why we have reserved 200,000 metric tons of rice for distribution across 774 Local Government Areas in the country.”