The Church of Christ Evangelical and Life Intervention Ministry, Sabon Tasha, Kaduna, on Tuesday distributed food items to more than 1,000 Muslims, Islamic schools and some Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) ahead of the Ramadan fasting period.

The General Overseer of the Church, Yohanna Buru, said during the distribution at the Kano Road Central Mosque that the gesture was aimed at promoting peace and unity in the state.

Buru said that the Church had consistently provided food assistance to over 1,000 underprivileged Muslims and Tsangaya Islamic schools across northern Nigeria during Ramadan for the past 20 years.

According to him, the intervention is designed to support beneficiaries with foodstuffs throughout the 30-day fasting and prayer period and to encourage prayers for peace and stability in the country.

“The Church has been distributing rice, maize and other food items to poor Muslims in five northern states to enable them to participate fully in the Ramadan fast and prayers,” he said.

He added that mats and plastic kettles were also distributed annually to encourage recipients to pray at home for an end to insecurity, rising inflation and other socio-economic challenges.

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Buru said that in view of the rising cost of goods and services, he mobilised 50 volunteer Pastors and Imams for a seven-day sensitisation campaign to appeal to market traders to reduce food prices.

He stated that the Church had also facilitated the release of some Muslim inmates annually to enable them to observe Ramadan with their families.

The cleric acknowledged the support of a Muslim woman, Hajiya Ramatu Tijjani, who he said donated to widows and orphans during Christmas and New Year celebrations.

Buru wished the Muslims a successful Ramadan and urged them to pray for peace and unity in the country.

In his remarks, the state leader of the Association of Persons with Disabilities, Malam Hassan Lawal, commended the church for its sustained support.

Lawal urged wealthy Muslims to assist the less privileged with food items to enable them to observe the fast and pray for the nation.

Also speaking, the Kaduna State leader of the Visually Impaired Persons Association, Malam Tukur Zubairu, appreciated the Church’s longstanding support to Muslims during Ramadan.

He said that the Church had, for two decades, consistently provided food grains to them for use during the fasting period, praying that God would reward the General Overseer for the gesture.

Responding on behalf of Tsangaya Islamic schools in Kaduna, Imam Ibrahim Musa, thanked the Church for the donation and called on other well-meaning individuals to emulate the act.

Similarly, the Murshid of Jama’atu Nasril Islam, Imam Ilyasu, described the initiative as commendable and urged affluent Muslims to give zakat to the poor to support them during Ramadan.(NAN)