No fewer than 450 Muslims received food items at a programme organised by Zakat and Sadaqat Foundation in Ilorin, Kwara State, on Monday.

The foundation's coordinator in the state, Muhammad Mukhtar, said there was the need for the private and public sectors to invest more in poverty alleviation programmes so as to improve the citizens'' welfare, reduce poverty and tackle insecurity.

A member of the House of Representatives representing Oshodi/Isolo Federal Constituency 2, Mr. Hakeem Muniru, organised a similar programme, which featured lecture and quiz in Lagos on Saturday.

Mukhtar said the group embarked on the programme to support the vulnerable groups as well as encourage Islamic scholars in their efforts to ensure the growth of Islam and the society at large.

On the occasion, the beneficiaries received rice, milk and sugar while the Muslim clerics, in addition, received live chickens.

Mukhtar said that the Imams had been upholding the preaching of peace and thereby ensuring peaceful coexistence in their communities.

He said, "We staged this programme to enlighten the Muslims generally on the importance of being generous to one another; for the rich to assist the poor and to appreciate the efforts of the Muslim clerics."

One of the beneficiaries, Abdulhakeem Peleowo, who urged other groups to emulate the gesture, said the beneficiaries were impressed and encouraged by the assistance.

The guest lecturer, Ahmed Mohammed, said the occasion provided an avenue for other Muslim organisations to engage in the act of charity.

Speaking at the event in Lagos on Saturday, Muniru said the programme was born out of his desire to impact positively on the society.

He said the distribution of food items to widows and other less privileged during Ramadan period was to tell the people that he was with them in spirit and in physical.

He said, "I am here again to tell our people that we are not just representing them in politics but that we could fill their spiritual lives too," Muniru said.

He urged the Muslims to be good to themselves and to the community, saying that by so doing, they would be able to impact on the society.

He said, "As Muslims, we should try as much as possible to be good to ourselves, to be good to the community, to be responsible and to be careful and to know that one day we will all go back to give account of what we have done on the surface of this earth.

"And most importantly, to know that we are our brother's keepers and to feel that if truly we are our brother's keepers, we will be together and the spirit of Ramadan will be with us."