- FG’s School Feeding Programme Gulps N6.2bn in 14 States
The Federal Government has so far spent N6.2bn on its National Homegrown School Feeding Programme during the academic year that ended in August.
The programme is a component of the present administration’s Social Investment Programmes which attracted N500bn allocation in both the 2016 and 2017 budgets.
The Senior Special Assistant to the Acting President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Laolu Akande, in a statement on Sunday said the amount was spent on feeding primary school pupils in 14 states.
Akande said 2,827,501 school children were currently benefiting from the scheme, which has three million children as its target.
He listed the 14 beneficiary states to include Anambra, Enugu, Oyo, Osun, Ogun, Ebonyi, Zamfara, Delta and Abia.
Others are Benue, Plateau, Bauchi, Taraba and Kaduna.
He also disclosed that 33,895 cooks had been engaged in the communities where the schools were located across the 14 states.
Akande said Anambra State had received N693,013,300, while a total of 103,742 children had been fed so far, with 1,009 cooks paid.
In Enugu State, he said N571,877,400 had been spent on the scheme while 108,898 children had been fed so far, with 1,276 cooks paid.
The statement read, “In Oyo State, a total of N490,296,800 was released by the Federal Government for the feeding of 107,983 children, with 1.372 cooks engaged.
“Osun State received a total of N1,000,394,888 for the feeding of 151,438 children. A total of 2,863 cooks were engaged in the state.
“Similarly, Ogun State received a total of N1,042,217,400 for the feeding of 231,660 schoolchildren, while a total of 2,205 cooks were paid.
“For Ebonyi State, a total of N344,633,100 has been released for the feeding of 163,137 pupils so far, with a total of 1,453 cooks paid.
“In the same vein, Zamfara State received a total of N402,295,600 for the feeding of 107,347 schoolchildren, while 1,127 cooks were engaged.
“Delta State received a total of N225,896,300 for the feeding of 141,663 pupils. A total of 1,364 cooks were engaged in the state.”
Akande said Abia and Benue states received N128,763,600 and N337,157,800 respectively to feed a total of 61,316 and 240,827 pupils respectively.
According to him, 750 cooks were engaged in Abia State while 3,344 cooks were paid in Benue State. Similarly, he said Plateau and Bauchi states received N133,187,600 and N214,909,101 for the feeding of a total of 95,134 and 307,013 pupils respectively.
He added that 1,418 cooks had so far been engaged in Plateau State, and 3,261 in Bauchi State.
“For Taraba State, a total of N120,284,500 was paid and 171,835 pupils have thus far been fed, with a total of 2,596 cooks paid.
“Kaduna State received a total of N499,985,500 while 835,508 pupils have been fed so far. Also, a total of 9,857 cooks were paid under the programme in the state.
“More states and primary school pupils across the country are expected to benefit from the feeding programme by the time schools reopen next month for a new session,” Akande concluded.
