Inside Kano extensive Ramadan feeding programme

By Maduabuchi Nmeribeh/Kano

Free Ramadan feeding for the needy provides essential, nutritious meals to break the fast, reducing food insecurity and financial strain on families. These programmes, often held at mosques and designated community centres foster community unity, promote social cohesion, and encourage the spirit of generosity. Furthermore, such initiatives allow for the spiritual multiplication of rewards and support local, small-scale food vendors.

The free Ramadan feeding programmes directly supply food to vulnerable groups, including orphans, widows, and internally displaced persons (IDPs), reducing the risk of starvation and disease. By bringing together different levels of society to share meals (Iftar), these initiatives strengthen community bonds and promote solidarity. Feeding initiatives often procure food from local, small-scale sellers, thereby boosting local economies and supporting small businesses.

For donors, like Kano state Governor, Engr. Abba Kabir Yusuf, free Ramadan feeding serves as an act of charity (sadaqah) that brings spiritual rewards, while also promoting empathy, generosity, and compassion in the community. The initiatives provide peace of mind to needy families, removing the stress of finding food to break their fast.

In Kano, the state Governor, Engr. Abba Kabir Yusuf is providing free Ramadan feeding programme in grand style, distributing deliciously prepared dishes to hundreds of thousands of the vulnerable people and the poor of the poorest across the nooks and crannies of the state on daily basis as the 2026 holy month of Ramadan lasts. The dishes are prepared by reputable Catering Services outlets. Our Correspondents visited few of them to ascertain the quality, quantity of the foods, as well as the hygienic environment.

One of the Catering Services outlets that prepare the free Ramadan feeding food is Tribes-By-Meena Catering Services, located on Lodge Road, near Government House.

Ina Zein, the Catering Manager, spoke to journalists on how they are preparing the free Ramadan food for the needy in Kano state, with full monitoring by the leadership of 2026 Kano State Ramadan Feeding Committee, led by the Commissioner for Religious Affairs, Alhaji Tijjani Auwalu Sani who is the chairman of the Committee, and the Committee’s Secretary, Akibu Isah Murtala, who is the Special Adviser (Administration) to Governor Yusuf.

Speaking to journalists who monitored the Ramadan feeding programme, Ona Zein of Tribes-By-Meena Catering Services said: “We are proud to show you the Ramadan Feeding of 2026. Here in the Tribes-By-Meena Catering Services and Event Centre. As you know, we are cooking 25,000 plates of food a day. It is a great pleasure and honor for us to spread this goodness and to show that the Governor, Engr. Abba Kabir Yusuf, is looking after his people, even in this difficult times, especially, with the unfortunate fire incident at Singer market. It is a very difficult time for people of the state.

“So, the governor is yet again, in this year, showing his people that, ‘I care for you. I see you and I try to look after you.’ And in this holy month of Ramadan, he has tried his best. As we know, it is 100,000 plates that he gives out to the people on daily basis. This is amazing. And we are just pleased to be part of it. And we are doing our best, as you can see, we are delivering the fresh, delicious food that everybody is really happy and appreciated about.

“You have moved round our premises and the kitchen. As you can see, it is a really nice environment to work in. I am here every single day.And we are enjoying this environment. It is clean. We look after it.We have employed ad-hoc workers: sweepers, cleaners. All the time that we are not alone, we have so many workers employed. Apart from those who cook, who do everything in the kitchen, we have the packers here.We have the cleaners, we have the supervisors. Every group has a supervisor. And then the supervisors have another supervisor. So, we are doing our best to produce very hygeinic, very quality food. Because we know, in the Quran it says, we should give out what we ourselves would eat. And that is what we are trying to do here.We are doing our best that the people who receive the food will open the package and then say, this is good food, this is what I like to eat. And if I eat it for Iftar, it is good. Maybe, I can also eat it again for Suhoor. So, we are trying to make a food that is lasting also. And about the ingredients, I think when you enter the kitchen, maybe you could perceive the aroma. Every day, when we come, we can perceive the beautiful aroma with all the ingredients of what is going inside the food. Maybe one more word about the staff.

“So, I enjoy working here. I have to say, and I am hoping it is not too long, but I really enjoy working with all the staff here. Everybody is always ready to change, to learn, to add to what they know.And that is beautiful. So, when I come, I never come unhappy. I am always happy to come here. That is because the working environment is amazing. And our CEO, Antibio Kiso, is just amazing to work with. I have to say that she is the most important. She is a great leader. She knows how to talk to her staff, how to motivate and encourage her staff. And that is why we are all here, happy. And we are enjoying this work. Honestly, we are having a lot of fun with it. Because of the Ramadan feeding programme, we have to employ over 300 ad-hoc employees. We have to add them so that we can keep up with the 25,000 packs a day. It looks like a small pack in the end. But believe me, there is so much work that goes into it. It looks really easy. If I was not working here every day, I would say, what is it? It is okay, nothing big. But it is big. Believe me.

“As you can see, the ad hoc workers are wearing Tribe-By-Meena T-shirts. We want them to identify with us in this month. Some of them might be retained. We want us all to work together. We are all the same. The sweepers are wearing the same T-shirt, the drivers are wearing, the packers, the cooks, we are all one. We are all working together for this project, making it successful.And it is not only the food that you are getting. It is really a beautiful environment of 500 people or plus working together. And apart from that, obviously we are buying from the Kano market with huge amount of money. Indeed, the programme is also building up the economy of the state from all ramifications. when I see the traders come in and they take a whole day to unload the food stuff, the takeaway plates, the spoons, the rubber bands, the masks, face masks, everything we buy, apart from all the kaya niya, of course, the shinkafa, I become highly excited.

“I think we cook 56 bags of Kaya Niya a day, 96 bags of rice a day, every single day. And that is just a huge amount of people carrying the rice, washing the rice, preparing the rice, pouring the rice in the pots, pouring it out.So we need so many workers. Apart from those who I closely supervise, counting the sacks in the trucks, that the correct amount goes out to the individual centers. This is very important.And we count the sacks, we count the quantity in the sacks. And there are so many people needed. Believe me, it is really amazing. I would not believe it if I weren’t here every day.”

Speaking to journalists at Tribes-By-Meena Catering Services, the Committee’s chairman, Ahmed Tijjani Sani Auwalu, who is the Commissioner of Religious Affairs, said: “Really, I am highly impressed. We are highly impressed by all the members of the committee that used to come with us. We have been moving around for the past 16 days, we have been going around the centers. First, on the strict instruction of His Excellency, Engr. Abba Kabir Yusuf, to make sure that the quality of food is intact. And the quantity of food is okay. And to monitor how they distribute this food in each centers. So, we have been going around. We have been to a lot of centers. In a day, we visit like three, four centres.

“And we still keep on visiting all the centres until the end of Ramadan. Insha Allah, we’re not going to relent. And today’s visit was at the instance of you, journalists, to see where this food is coming from. Because will not just see food in a pack and you don’t even know how it come about. It’s a little bit disturbing. Alhamdulillah, you’ve seen for yourself.

“We have gone round some of the Catering services outlets that are preparing the food. These are the major kitchens. These two kitchens: Ten-To-Ten Catering Services and Tribes-By-Meena Catering Services we visited supply 50,000 packs/plates of food per day. Between the two of them, that’s 25,000 each. And we’ve seen the high level structure they have. And the hygiene. And the way they cook the food, the kitchen and everything. Really, not only the committee, I think His Excellency the Governor too will be impressed with what is happening. And this shows the commitment of His Excellency, Engr. Abba Kabir Yusuf, to the well-being of the people of Kano State. Not only feeding them, but making sure that they are eating hygienic food. So that we will not have cases of food poisoning and all the other things that we used to experience.

“We prepare 115,000 plates of food every day for this programme. So, immediately we have any issue, even in the night, we leave and go and see what is happening. And we make sure the problem is rectified immediately. So, I think, from my own point of view, this is the best Ramadan feeding we’ve ever had in Kano.

“In terms of quality of the food, in terms of quantity of the food. And in terms of organizing, in terms of supervision. And in terms of media coverage. So really, and today, we do more than half, almost half of the food that is coming to people of Kano. We’ve seen the place where these foods are coming. And we have another company that is doing 25,000. If you (journalists) have time, we are going to that place now. If we don’t have, we will leave it till tomorrow. That is 75,000. So the rest, they are small, small restaurants, which we are visiting on our own. And we are happy that, yes, everywhere we go, we see a hygienic place where this food is being cooked. So we are very, very, very happy. That is the essence, to see for ourselves that this food is being prepared well, and we are very, very impressed.

“We are very happy with these people. So we want to recommend to them that they should keep the tempo. They should not slow down. Because we are moving towards the last 10 days of Ramadan. So at times, people tend to have relaxed habit of, ah, Ramadan is going, so let me relax. So we are calling on them not to relax. Because, we are going to use these 10 days to recommend for the next year’s Ramadan feeding. The companies that perform best in these last 10 days, we are going to recommend, Insha Allah. And I know my governor will double this effort, Insha Allah.

“So, we want to thank the media team for always keeping us on our toes. Because if not because of them, a lot of people will not know what is happening. And when we bring out a problem, another vendor will say, ah, they should not catch me doing this thing. So, the media really, really, really is very, very, very important in this. And we thank you very much.

Speaking on the money spent and how the programme is boosting the state’s economy, the Committee chairman said: “Let me not talk about even the feeding, let us talk about the economy. Injecting this huge amount of money into the economy of the state, we can see the markets growing now. People selling onions, people selling maggi, people selling oil, people selling even these spoons and all that. So the economy is moving. So it’s just like you are pumping money and the money will be rotating into the economy and it will be coming back to the government. So, apart from the feeding of the poor, the less privileged, we are taking it lightly. And we are taking it as if one person eats, it’s nothing. But in the eyes of God, feeding one person in the month of Ramadan, every amount of money is justified.”

Indeed, the Ramadan Feeding Committee of the Kano State Government continue its monitoring of cooking centres participating in the state’s Ramadan feeding programme. The committee visited Alatee Restaurant, one of the designated cooking centres in Nasarawa Local Government Area.

During the visit, officials inspected the cooking process, hygiene conditions, and the distribution arrangements put in place to ensure the success of the programme.

Managers of the centre informed the committee that the facility produces about 3,000 plates of food daily, which are distributed to vulnerable members of the community. Members of the committee commended the operators for their efforts and urged them to maintain high standards in food preparation and timely distribution. The Ramadan feeding programme initiated by the Kano State Government is aimed at supporting vulnerable residents across the state during the holy month of Ramadan.

Moreso, the Kano State Ramadan Feeding Committee has conducted an inspection visit to several food distribution centres in Gwale Local Government Area as part of efforts to ensure the quality and proper distribution of meals provided under the state’s Ramadan feeding programme. The monitoring visit, covered distribution centres at Gwale Bintinariya and Gwale Hisbah in the Diso–Chiranci ward, as well as the centre at Dorayi Karshen Waya. The delegation was led by the Chairman of the committee, Sheikh Ahmad Tijjani Auwal, alongside the committee’s Secretary, Hon. Akibu Isah Murtala, and other members including directors and advisers to the governor.

During the inspection, the committee assessed the distribution process to confirm that the meals provided by the government meet the required quality and quantity standards and reach the intended beneficiaries. The committee commended officials at the centres for their dedication and commitment in carrying out the responsibility of distributing food to the needy during the holy month of Ramadan. Speaking during the visit, the committee chairman and also Commissioner for Religion Affairs Sheikh Tijjani Auwal Sani urged those managing the distribution centres to uphold the trust placed in them and ensure that the food reaches the targeted members of the community.

The Councillor representing Diso–Chiranci ward, Malam Abubakar Ado, also praised the Kano State Government for what he described as a significant effort to ensure that the Ramadan feeding programme reaches vulnerable residents. He further commended the companies responsible for preparing the meals for maintaining quality standards and for responding positively whenever concerns are raised. At the Dorayi Karshen Waya centre, the committee observed that the distribution was being carried out in an orderly and commendable manner.

The Deputy Commander of Hisbah in Gwale Local Government, Malam Nafiu Dahiru, said officials were working diligently to ensure that the distribution follows the guidelines set by the committee. He acknowledged that there had previously been complaints regarding the company responsible for preparing the meals but noted that the issues had since been addressed. The committee’s Secretary, Alhaji Akibu Isah Murtala, said the inspection visits were part of the committee’s responsibility to regularly monitor the programme and ensure that representatives across the state properly manage the distribution process. He also commended stakeholders involved in the exercise for their efforts, assuring that the Kano State Government would continue to implement programmes aimed at improving the welfare of its citizens

Furthermore, the Chairman of the Ramadan Feeding Committee and Kano State Commissioner for Shari’a Sheikh Tijjani Auwalu has reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to supporting vulnerable residents through sustained welfare initiatives particularly during the holy month of Ramadan. He made this known when he led members of the committee on an inspection visit to some food distribution centres in Rangaza, Ungoggo Local Government Area. According to him, the feeding programme remains a key humanitarian intervention designed to ease hardship and ensure that vulnerable members of society receive support in an organised and transparent manner.

While addressing stakeholders during the visit, Sheikh Tijjani Auwalu also highlighted broader social support initiatives being implemented by the Kano State Government under the leadership of Abba Kabir Yusuf. He cited ongoing support for women through the provision of business capital as an example of the administration’s commitment to empowering citizens beyond immediate relief efforts. The Commissioner noted that financial support to women is a continuous government policy aimed at strengthening self-reliance and improving household livelihoods.

In his remarks, the Chairman of Ungoggo Local Government Tijjani Amiru Ungoggo expressed appreciation to the Governor for what he described as a commendable effort in supporting the people. He stated that from the onset of the programme stakeholders had been satisfied with the orderly manner in which the food distribution was being conducted. Hon.Ungoggo further shared that a friend of his residing in Germany had also commended the Kano State Government for its proactive welfare measures noting that such initiatives reflect positively on the administration’s commitment to public service. The inspection formed part of the committee’s ongoing monitoring efforts to ensure effective and transparent implementation of the Ramadan feeding programme across the state.

When he visited the Head of the Zawiyya Fagge, Haruna Rashid in Fagge Area of the state, the Commissioner for Religious Affairs and Chairman of the 2026 Kano state Ramadan Feeding Committee, Sheikh Ahmad Tijjani, expressed full satisfaction with the performance of the food vendor responsible for the feeding exercise. The Committee Chairman further explained that, due to the high number of beneficiaries at the Zawiyya, the quantity of food distributed was increased to ensure that everyone receives an adequate portion. He also commended the vendor for implementing earlier recommendations, which have improved the feeding process. In his remarks, the Head of the Zawiyya, Sheikh Haruna Rashid, expressed profound appreciation to the Governor of Kano State, Abba Kabir Yusuf, for his commitment to supporting the people, especially during the Ramadan period. He prayed for Allah’s continued guidance and success in his leadership.

After completing the visit in Fagge, the committee proceeded to another feeding centre on Dawaki Road in Nassarawa Local Government Area and later visited the Zawiyya of Sheikh Usman Balla in Gwale Local Government Area, where they assessed the feeding exercise and ensured compliance with established guidelines. The Committee Chairman was accompanied by senior government officials, including the Committee Secretary, Alhaji Akibu Isah Murtala; Deputy Commander of Hisbah (Female Unit), Hajiya Khadijah Sagir; Director of Special Duties in the Office of the Secretary to the Kano State Government, Malam Hassan; and other directors from the Ministry. The inspection tour is part of the government’s efforts to ensure that the Ramadan feeding programme reaches the intended beneficiaries properly, transparently, and in an organized manner.

However, Kano State Government has expressed its full satisfaction with how the distribution of Iftar meals is being conducted at the centers set up to support fasting individuals across the state during this blessed month of Ramadan.

The Chairman of the Meal Distribution Committee, who is also the State Commissioner for Religious Affairs, Sheikh Tijjani Auwal Sani, made this statement during an inspection tour of several of the designated meal distribution centers. According to him, both the reports they received and what they observed firsthand indicate that the program is being managed in an organized, clean, and transparent manner, just as the government planned, ensuring that the support reaches those in need.

Some of the centers visited so far by the committee were Sheikh Aminuddeen Mosque in Nasarawa, the Marmara neighborhood in Birni Local Government Area, and Malam Umar Mosque in Gidan Koguna, Gandun Albasa–Bayan Gidan, Zoo Road; Ado Bayero Islamiyya, Sharada; Shekara Secondary School, Yakasai Quarters; Masallacin Alhaji Musa Mai Manja, Sagagi; Masallaci Tanko Mai Block; Gidan Sheikh Tijjani ‘Yan Mota; Sheikh Ahmad Tijjani Mosque, K/Mata, among others, where it was confirmed that meals were being distributed smoothly and orderly. The committee chairman also commended the cooperation of the community and stakeholders and emphasized that they would continue monitoring to ensure the program maintains quality and fairness at all meal distribution centers throughout the state.

Our Correspondent reports that the inspection tour to monitor the preparation and distribution of meals for fasting Muslims during the holy month of Ramadan across Kano state is aimed to ensure that the feeding programme is carried out in an organized manner, with proper hygiene, and in accordance with the guidelines set by the government for the benefit of the public.