Ramadan: Customs Partners Oko Opo Foundation to Support Widows With Food Items

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has lend a supportive hand to a non-profit organization, Okó Opó Foundation, in furtherance of the foundation’s commitment to lifting the widows, children and downtrodden members of the society.

The support came by way of donation of 30 bags of 50kg rice to the charity organisation at its corporate office, Laderin, Abeokuta, Ogun State capital.

This was a plan to lift up the widows and less previleged ones, especially during the Holy month of Ramadan, a season characterized by fasting and prayers by Muslim faithfuls.

According to reports from a similar situation on December 26, 2024, the foundation lifted over 150 widows from a dozen of Ogun communities with cash, food items and medications for those having ailments to make the last yuletide a memorable one for them.

The rice donation, according to the Nigeria Customs was a fulfillment of the pledge by the agency last month during a peace parley between the promoter of Okó Opó Foundation, Ambassador (Dr) Babatunde Adeyemo, to support the foundation’s agenda for the widows in recognition of his magnanimity towards a trigger-happy NCS operative, who recently shot at his vehicle.

Adeyemo, a real estate entrepreneur, and the Chief Executive Officer of Pelican Valley Nigerian Limited, had during the peace engagement meeting with the senior Customs officials wholeheartedly forgave the erring officer and declined compensation as earlier filed by his legal counsel.

However, he asked the erring officer, “to go and sin no more”, even as he also pleaded with the NCS and its leadership to give the officer a “second chance” and “not relieve him of his job” over the alleged professional misconduct.

Meanwhile, while delivering the bags of rice on Wednesday, the NCS represented by Mr Olabode Akinola (Assistant Customs Comptroller), Mr Ismaheel Alarape (NCS Superintendent Officer), and Mr Kaffu Samuel (Deputy Superintendent Customs, Lagos), said the donation is in furtherance of the Nigerian Customs Service mantra of supporting notable, not for profit organisation, in a bid to alleviate the suffering of they have not in the society, in line with the renewed hope agenda of the present administration.

The Customs leadership, however, reaffirmed its unflinching support to the Okó Opó widows Foundation and also to all well meaning, not for profit and humanitarian organisations with a clear vision and purpose.

While responding to the gesture, the Chief Promoter, Okó Opó widows Foundation, Dr. Babatunde Adeyemo, said the donation from the Nigerian Customs Service to the foundation is another victory to the widows in Nigeria.

The Anti-corruption Ambassador, also added that the donated commodity will be shared to the last grains with an additional token for the widows to celebrate the exit of the holy month of Ramadan.