FG spends N6.64 bn on school feeding programme

-President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration has within a year, spent close to N7bn on its school feeding project.

-The project aims to feed 5.5 million school children before the end of 2017.

The federal government, yesterday, disclosed it has spent N6,643,432,789 on feeding of pupils in the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme.

The disclosure reveals that 2,918,842 school children from 19,881 schools in the 14 pilot states of the federation, benefited from the programme.

The feeding programme is part of President Muhammadu Buhari administration’s N500 billion Social Investment Programmes, SIPs, which has targeted to feed 5.5 million school children before the end of 2017.

A statement signed by the spokesperson to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Laolu Akande, explained that “N6,643,432,789 has been disbursed by the Federal Government since the school feeding programme kicked off towards the end of last year.

“With 3,325 schools, Kaduna State has the highest number of schools so far covered under the programme, as well as the highest number of schoolchildren (835,508) who have been fed. It is closely followed by Benue State where 2,220 schools have been covered and 240,827 schoolchildren have been fed.

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“Zamfara State also recorded a high number, with 1,952 schools covered and 198,788 pupils fed under the programme. “Similarly, Bauchi State recorded impressive figures with 1,904 schools already covered, while 307,013 schoolchildren in the state have so far benefitted from the programme.

Also,1,850 schools have been covered and 151,438 pupils have been fed in Osun State. “In the same vein, 1,479 schools have been covered and 171,835 pupils fed so far in Taraba State; while 1,403 schools have been covered in Oyo State, where 107,983 pupils have been fed.

“In Anambra State, 807 schools have been covered and 103,742 schoolchildren fed so far, while in Enugu State, 108,898 pupils in 622 schools have been fed. “In Ebonyi State, the school feeding programme has so far covered 1,050 schools and 163,137 schoolchildren have been fed.

“In Ogun State, 903 schools have so far been covered with 231,660 pupils fed. Also, a total of 95,134 schoolchildren in 882 schools have been fed in Plateau State.

“Delta and Abia states recorded 742 schools each, with 141,663 and 61,316 schoolchildren fed respectively.”

“With the commencement of a new academic session in September, it is expected that more schools will benefit from the programme, as more states would be added to the list, in line with the Federal Government target that 5.5 million schoolchildren would be fed by the end of 2017.”

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