Yuletide: Airtel Nigeria to feed 5,000 IDPs in five states

Airtel Nigeria has announced plans to feed 5,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) across five states in the country.

Surendran Chemmenkotil, chief executive officer of Airtel Nigeria, announced this on Wednesday at a virtual media briefing. 

Chemmenkotil said the focus of the initiative tagged ‘5 Days of Love’, is to distribute 1,000 palliative packs to five select IDP camps in five states across the country over the next five days.

The distribution, he said, will kick off on Monday, December 13, in Ugha IDP Camp, Benue State.

Chemmenkotil said the next stop would be in Kasaisa IDP Camp in Damaturu, Yobe, on December 14, while on December 15 the telco would be at the IDP camp in Ekiti.

“On Thursday 16th December, the programme will hold in Anka, Zamfara. The distribution will be concluded at the IDP Camp in Ekende, Ogoja, Cross Rivers on Friday, 17th December,” he added.

The Airtel CEO said 2021 has been an interesting year and advised corporate organisations to express love and appreciation to society.

“I am sure many are wondering why Airtel continues to invest in critical programmes in spite of the huge sums we have committed to supporting some other programmes,” he said.

“As a company, we believe that to be great, one must first be good.

“Airtel will not rest on its laurels, we believe that as a key stakeholder in Nigeria, one ought to continue pursuing programmes that will empower and touch the lives of more Nigerians.

“It is in this spirit that we have chosen to celebrate this Yuletide with underprivileged and underserved persons across the country.”

Chemmenkotil said that this year’s edition of its feeding programme was both special and symbolic — as it coincides with the company’s 20th anniversary.

He noted that before now, Airtel had been consistent in showing love to different stakeholders in the society, especially the communities where they operate.

“In July, we announced the 6th edition of our flagship CSR programme, Airtel Touching Lives, with a promise to impact more communities positively,” he said.

“We also announced that we will be revisiting our ‘Adopt a School Project’, to rehabilitate schools facilities.

“Just last month, we were all together at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), where we commissioned Ward A block of the prestigious medical facility.”

He further assured that Airtel would continue to provide support to the vulnerable and less privileged.