School Feeding Programme: Reps Fault FG’s N187bn Spending

The School Feeding Programme of the Federal Government has been faulted by the House of Representatives over how the sum of N186 billion was spent by the National Conditional Cash Transfer Office.

The House Committee on Public Accounts reacted while questioning the National Coordinator of the School Feeding Programme, Mrs Temitope Sinkaye; Coordinating Officer, National Safety Net, Mr Apera Iorwa, on the disbursement of N64 billion out of N186 billion said to have been spent on feeding pupils public schools.

Mr Oluwole Oke, the Chairman of the Committee, while reacting described the report as outrageous and unacceptable and also demanded a complete audit of the programme with immediate effect.

The Committee was pissed after finding out that NICTO received a credit of $400m from the World Bank, $321m from recovered ‘Abacha loot’ and another $400m said to be balanced from Federal Government equity fund.

Sikanye while speaking on the documents submitted to the committee noted that the feeding programme had been ongoing since 2016 when the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs initiated it and has since spent the sum of N186bn.

She said N63.2 billion was spent in 2018, N32.2 billion in 2019 and N124.4 billion in 2020.

The report, however, did not go down well with the committee which noted that many schools, including those in their constituencies, had yet to benefit from the programme.

Mr Ifeanyi Momah (Anambra, APGA) and Mrs Miriam Onuoha (Imo, APC) particularly dismissed the report. Momah faulting the claim that 200,000 pupils from different families had benefited from it from Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra State, where he represents.

Oke further stated that the committee would review the documents before it and expressed doubts that the National Assembly appropriated the funds.