Abia State government has flagged off its free school-feeding programme to cover all primary school pupils in the state.
The free lunch programme was initially flagged off in the state in 2016 to cover primary 1 to 3 pupils thus making Abia the first state in the federation to do so before now extending it to cover primary 4 to 6.
Flagging off the programme for primary 4 to 6 at Ubakala Central School in Umuahia South local government area, Dr Ikpeazu commended the federal government for looking the way of the vulnerable pupils and creating a platform to feed primary school pupils from 1 to 3.
He said his government is desirous to ensure that pupils focus their attention on learning, pointing out that there is a relationship between well fed pupils and the capacity to learn while hungry pupils find it difficult to concentrate.
According to him, it is imperative to mainstream school feeding as a policy of his government, pointing out that the government opened up warehouses in the 3 senatorial zones where food items can be donated for the programme.
