Ogun state is one of the states in the country which often experiece acute shortage of kerosene. People, especially women, go the extra mile to get the product, often at outrageous  prices. The problem, according to findings,  is more pronounced in the rural areas of the state which harbour  majority of residents.

Happily, relief has come the way of residents in some local government areas of the state, courtesy of a non-government organisation popularly called Omo- Ilu Foundation. The Foundation recently distributed more than 100,000 litres of kerosene worth N10 million  to the people in  Ijebu-North, Ijebu-Ode  and Remo local government areas of the state at a subsidized rate.

Vanguard Metro, VM,  gathered that in spite of the fact that the founder of the foundation, Chief Buruji Kashamu, is a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, the philanthropic empowerment was not based on partisan consideration as members of the party and other residents of  the area received the free kerosene.

Speaking with VM, some of the  beneficiaries profusely expressed appreciation for the kind gesture against the backdrop of their long suffering on account of prolonged acute shortage of kerosene and attendant high prices.

One of the  beneficiaries, self-employed Awodeyin Ayodele, thanked the NGO for its kind gesture, saying: “I didn’t even expect such a thing. Imagine paying only N420 for six litres of kerosene. If it was in the market, I would have paid about N750″.

Interest of the common people

Another beneficiary,   Mrs. Oladeniyi Bosede , said: “I just want to say thank you to the founder of the  initiative, Prince Buruji Kashamu, who has the interest of the common people at heart”.

According to her,  Kashamu has been  assisting the less-privileged  through his empowerment  programmes. “If you consider what has happened in the  past and what is happening now, you will have no choice but to give  kudos to him,” she said.

Speaking with newsmen during the distribution, Managing Director of the Foundation, Onasile   Adebowale, disclosed that  the programme started from Ijebu-North before it spread to Ijebu-Ode, Ikenne, Ogere, Ilisan, among other areas in the state. According to him, the   aim is  to  ensure  that people at the grass root are given a new lease of life after being in the shackles of poverty for many years.

“We started from Ijebu-North and have supplied about 36 thousand litres . In Ijebu-Ode, we supplied 22 thousand litres of kerosene. Here in  Iperu, it’s 22 thousand litres. We have been to Ikenne; we were in Ogere and Ilisan… We have supplied over 100, 000 litres of the kerosene. Our aim is to  supply more to cut across the state soonest.”