A renowned Nigeria-UK businessman and philanthropist , Olatunji Awodiran has said established Leovest Food Bank Foundation to support the less privilege and not for for politically gains
Leovest Food Bank Foundation has consistently dished out free food to about 1000 residents to cushion the effect of the removal of fuel subsidy and attendant economist hardship in the country.
Besides, some schools’ children have benefited from free uniforms, sandals and payment of West African Examination ( WAEC) fees in the state.
Awodiran in a chat with the media on Thursday maintained that the step became necessary to alleviate poverty and put smiles on the faces of the down trodden .
While speaking about his forthcoming food distribution initiative, Awodiran noted that the June 14 food distribution is for the less privileged with the aim of putting smile on faces of the people before and during the Eid-El-Kabir (Ileya) festival.
Awodiran who was with his assistants, Mr Niyi Olanrewaju and Mrs Ayomide Ekunniyi stated that his Food Bank Foundation Program started August 2023, and that the program has made a lot of positive impact on Osun state indigenes particularly people of Obokun local government.
He said “ About 1000 people have so far benefited from our monthly food bank program, while over N40m has been spent so far on the program.”
The Obokun-born philanthropist stated that his gesture was not politically motivated, adding that his primary intention was to put smiles on the faces of people around him.
He said, “My aim is to give back to the society considering the hardship, the current situation of our economy and to be honest, this is happening around the world, it’s not peculiar to Nigeria alone.how
“Aside the Food Bank, we also make provision of uniforms and sandals for over 250 students in Obokun, we have also paid examination fees, PTA level, and WAEC fees among others.”
“We are looking forward to partnering with the Osun state government and as well as other state governments on our project, we plan to strengthen our scope beyond Obokun local government, we want to expand our gesture to other parts of the state and even to other states.
“Food Bank initiative will resume in a unique way on 14th of June, 2024, because we want to put smile on faces of our people before the Eid-El-Kabir (Ileya) festival.”
Awodiran however called on government at all levels to prioritize agriculture to ensure food security across the nation, saying government should invest and give more priority to local farmers to have abundant food supply
