The Federal Government has released N844, 360, 550 to seven states for the provision of at least one meal per day more than one million pupils. It has also engaged11,775 cooks to prepare the meals in those states. The food items for the preparation of the meals would be supplied by local farmers in those states. The states are Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, Oyo, Osun, Ogun and Zamfara.
Laolu Akande, Senior Special Assistant on Media & Publicity to the Vice President disclosed this while giving an update on the Social Investment Programme of the present administration. “That means the Buhari Presidency’s Homegrown School Feeding Programme would be feeding this week a total of 1,043, 205 pupils in those seven states,” he said. Anambra has received N188,769,000 to feed 96,489 pupils for 30 school days. The state has a total of 937 cooks.
Akande disclosed that the Federal Government has also released N115, 218, 600 to Ebonyi State, which has 1466 cooks to cook for 164,598 pupils. Also in Enugu State, the government has released N67,244,800 to feed 96,064 pupils, engaging 1128 cooks. Similarly, in Ogun State, N119, 648, 900 was released to feed 170, 927 pupils, after 1381 cooks had been employed, while in Osun, N92, 425, 400 was released to feed 142,193 pupils. 2688 cooks were engaged. For Oyo State, N72,288,300 was released by the federal government to feed 103,269 pupils, with 1437 cooks engaged, while Zamfara got N188,765,500 to feed 269, 665 pupils, engaging 2, 738 cooks.
By Dike Onwuamaeze