No fewer than 5,000 residents of Ekiti State benefited from a humanitarian outreach organised by Ekiti-born entrepreneur, Mr. Jide Akinyemi, as part of activities marking the 2025 Christmas season.
The outreach, tagged “Ekiti Christmas Box of Love ’25,” was organised by the Jide Akinyemi Foundation (JAF), a charitable organisation committed to empowering lives and promoting community development.
The initiative saw the distribution of over 10,000 well-packaged food boxes to beneficiaries across the 16 local government areas of the state.
Akinyemi, who hails from Ayedun in Ikole Local Government Area, is the founder of JAF, a United States soldier and the Managing Director of Hyerus LLC, a firm focused on strategic business and healthcare consultancy solutions. He explained that the initiative was designed to ease the festive burden on households, particularly the elderly, women and vulnerable families, stressing that the outreach was purely humanitarian and people-centred.
Speaking with journalists at the event, held at the All Progressives Congress (APC) Secretariat in Ado-Ekiti, Akinyemi said the foundation’s annual Christmas outreach aims to ensure that vulnerable members of society celebrate the season with dignity. He disclosed that the initiative has been sustained for four years and would be expanded by 2026 to reach more communities and social groups across the state.
At the gathering, Akinyemi publicly declared his support for the administration of Governor Biodun Oyebanji, citing the governor’s people-oriented leadership and visible developmental strides across Ekiti State. He, however, dismissed claims that the outreach had political undertones, insisting that the foundation’s activities remain humanitarian while supporting good governance.
“Governments cannot do everything alone. Foundations and NGOs exist to complement government efforts. Supporting a government that is performing well is not political ambition, it is supporting good governance,” he said.
He added that the foundation remains committed to complementing government interventions, noting that civil society organisations can help bridge gaps in service delivery for the benefit of the people.
Receiving Akinyemi into the APC, the party’s state chairman, Barrister Sola Eleshin, commended the Jide Akinyemi Foundation for supporting residents with relief packages.
He described Akinyemi’s decision to join the party as a welcome development, noting that Ekiti State needs patriotic citizens who are willing to contribute to the welfare of the people and complement government efforts.
The event, which was peaceful and well-coordinated, attracted community members, volunteers and stakeholders from across the state.
