By Sidi A. Umar
Sokoto
The Sokoto state Zakat and Endowment Committee initiated by the state government on Wednesday distributed items worth millions of naira to the needy in the state.
Speaking during the ceremony, Governor Aliyu Magatakardan Wamakko said the idea to establish the committee was borne out of his modest attempt to take beggars off the streets.
The governor said his administration was spending N 80 million monthly as allowances to the physically challenged people and the needy in the state.
He said his administration was determined and committed to providing welfare to the needy and admonished the wealthy Muslims about the repercussions of the refusal to give out Zakat.
He said about 1, 000 people were going to benefit the gesture, adding that about 11, 500 youths would soon be trained on various skills acquisitions and modern farming techniques.
Items distributed included 350 sewing machines, 80 deep freezer and generators, 350 grinding machines, and 560 goats.
In his speech, the chairman, Sokoto state Zakkat and Endowment Committee, Malam Lawal Maidoki, said the items were acquired through the state government monthly contributions.
He said about 120 people had been selected from all the 23 local governments for the committee’s one month shoe making training.
Maidoki said the training would commence this week, adding that the beneficiaries would after the training be supported with tools and capital to start their business.
He said the committee’s aim was to support the state government in its effort to put beggars off the streets and assist it on its empowerment programme.
He said the institution of Zakat and endowment in Islam was targeted at reducing the menace of poverty and its related unpalatable consequences.
