By Tajudeen Adebanjo

The Minister of Mines and Steel, Abdul-Hakeem Olamilekan Adegbite yesterday urged Nigerians to assist the needy.

This, he said, could be done through the payment of Zakat by Muslims.

He spoke at the 6th Jaiz Charity and Development Foundation Zakat Distribution in Abuja.

Adegbite stated that an egalitarian society will be attainable if humankind adheres to the instructions of Allah.

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While commending the foundation for resuscitation a forgotten pillar of Islam (Zakat), the Minister described Jaiz Foundation’s gesture over the years as commendable.

Chairman of Jaiz Bank Plc Alhaji Umaru Abdul Mutallab hailed the efforts of the management and board of the foundation.

Chairman of the foundation, Mallam Adamu Bello said it is committed to putting smiles on the faces of the less-privileged and vulnerable people.

“We do this, in order to save lives, give the poor and needy a sense of belonging and facilitate a decent lifestyle for them,” he said.

Chief Executive Officer of the foundation Dr Abdullahi Shuaib said Jaiz was poised to complement the efforts of the Federal Government as well as state governments to tackle the menace of poverty and bridging the gap of inequality among our people.

To achieve this, he said, the Foundation was equipped with two major Islamic social finance instruments–Zakat and Awqaf to accomplish its goal.

He said N50.1 million was disbursed to 838 beneficiaries in Lagos, Taraba, Katsina and Abuja.

Shuaib said: “In the past few days, we have disbursed Zakat funds to the tune of N32, 772,653.31 to 304 beneficiaries. Today, a total of 534 beneficiaries are benefitting from the Zakat fund of N12, 780,000 across the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). This brings the total Zakat disbursement for the year under review to N50, 052,653.31 to 838 beneficiaries covering Lagos, Taraba, Katsina and FCT.

“It is also important to mention that a high premium was placed on the 4th Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of the United Nations which is quality education for Nigerian children. From the total disbursement, N23, 235,153.31 was allotted to 270 beneficiaries, which, again, was the highest number according to the thematic areas of focus representing 51 per cent of the total disbursement.

“Taking the second place was SDG 1 (No Poverty) which was allotted N11, 915,000 to 166 beneficiaries. This represented 26 per cent of the total disbursement.

“The third and fourth thematic areas were SGD 3 (Good health and Well-being) and SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) which were allotted N5,697,500 and N4,705,000; representing 13 per cent and 10 per cent respectively of the total Zakat fund. The balance of N4, 500,000 was spent on administrative and logistics, which represents nine per cent.”