Zakat and Sadaqat Foundation has distributed N51 million in cash and materials to 74 beneficiaries, including widows and students, at its 2026 Zakat distribution ceremony, ZDC held in Abeokuta, Ogun State recently.
Themed “Zakat & Social Responsibility: Strengthening Economic Security, Community Cohesion, and National Peace,” the event held at the Crescent, Muslim Professionals, Hall, Leme, Abeokuta, on the 6th day of Muharram 1448 AH.
The disbursed package comprised cash grants, industrial equipment, including sewing, washing and stone-cutting machines, clothing materials, ovens, payment of school fees, and debt settlement for beneficiaries across the state’s Egba/Yewa zone.
Giving his welcome speech, the Egba/Yewa Zone Coordinator of the foundation, Alhaji Abdulrahman Anifowose, said the 74 beneficiaries were selected from 240 applications received, of which 190 qualified on merit.
Anifowose, however, said the foundation could not meet all their needs, noting that an estimated N400 million would have been required to support all qualified applicants.
“We sincerely apologise, because the total amount needed to meet the need of all applcants is N400 million,” he said.
He said the beneficiaries included 18 indigent students, 12 widows, and a Christian, among others, adding that two of the listed beneficiaries had already received their support earlier on account of emergency circumstances.
The students, he said, were supported by the Wuraola Shadiya Educational Waqf, which primarily assists students unable to pay their school fees.
Anifowose further disclosed that the Egba/Yewa zone alone generated N46 million in zakat contributions this cycle, while total contributions raised across the zone, including waqf and other donations, exceeded N90 million.
In the same vein, he revealed that between 2020 and 2026, the foundation has supported about 400 beneficiaries with a cumulative total of N160 million in zakat distributions, separate from Sunday’s N51 million package.
Delivering the lecture, Imam Shafiu Omojole, Head of the Commandant Secretariat, Edo State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, linked widespread poverty and insecurity in Nigeria to the neglect of zakat obligations, particularly among Muslims in the country’s north.
“Out of three beggars today, two are Muslims. It is now as if Islam embraces begging. What about zakat?” Omojole said.
“Solat refines our relationship with God, and zakat refines our relationship among ourselves,” he said, distinguishing the two obligations.
The lecturer linked poverty to rising social ills including kidnapping, divorce and homelessness, stressing that multiplying zakat in the country would benefit Nigerians.