To ameliorate the current hardship caused by the economic situation of the country, Dangote Foundation has donated 80,000 bags of rice to Lagos for onward distribution to vulnerable households in the state.
Fully loaded trucks laden with the 80,000 units of 10kg bags of rice were received by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Wednesday.
According to a statement issued by the foundation, this was part of the ongoing rollout of one million bags of 10kg rice to vulnerable families across the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), with Lagos taking the second largest share of the largesse.
Speaking, the Governor of Lagos said, “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.”
Speaking further, he added, “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.”
Aliko Dangote, President of Dangote Group stated that the foundation had made this a yearly mission over the past 30 years to support Nigerians during fasting periods.
“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,” he said.