By Aisha Cole
Lagos – An NGO, Fatima Charity Foundation, on Monday, donated foodstuff and other items worth millions of naira to Internally Displaced Persons(IGPs) in Igando, a suburb of Lagos State. News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that items donated include bags, toiletries, shoes, clothes, semovita, noodles, beverages, table water, rice, vegetable oil and other useful items to support the upkeep of the IDPs.The Founder and President of the Foundation,who is also the Iyalode of Lagos, Chief Bintu-Fatima Tinubu, handed over the relief items to the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), when she visited the IDPs.Bintu-Fatima said her foundation donated items to support government efforts in improving the livelihood of IDPs.
According to her, it is part of the Foundation’s objectives to support the less privileged, including IDPs in the state, rejoice with them and make them feel happy.“Fatima Foundation has visited all the IDP camps in Lagos State, but this is the first time we are visiting the IDPs in Igando, being one of the newest IDP camps in the state.“We decided to come to IDPs in Igando because we feel that they are the ones who need it most at this time.
“They are displaced from their residence and right now, are neither here nor there,” Bintu-Tinubu said.She urged other well-to-do people in the society to support the needy. Also speaking, the Wife of a former traditional ruler of Ikorodu, Dr Mueebat Oyefusi, urged Nigerians to complement government efforts in relieving the IDPs by extending their financial and moral support to them.
She commended the efforts of the Foundation for its honesty and dedication to the cause of the less privileged in the society.In his remarks, the Director-General, LASEMA, Dr Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, said that the event marked a new dawn in Lagos, for a reputable organisation such as Fatima Foundation to identify with the IDPs in Lagos.Oke-Osanyintolu said that it was a welcome development for the organisation to find time to celebrate with victims of emergency and disaster in the state.
“The Foundation came all the way from Lagos Island to put smiles on the faces of IDPs at Igando which is at the extreme end of Lagos State, to celebrate and rejoice with them. “We are appealing to other organisations to support the government because government cannot do it alone. “Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu has done a lot in terms of preparedness for emergency, recovery and disaster management. There is a need for partnership of people in Lagos to emulate Fatima Charity Foundation and join hands with Mr Governor. “We should ensure that our watchword is safety of lives and property,” Oke-Osanyintolu said.
(NAN)
