Federal Govt To Sack Nonperforming Vendors In School Feeding Programme

Federal government has threatened to sack food vendors found wanting in its national homegrown school feeding programme.

The focal person for the National Social Investment Programmes (N-SIP) in Kwara State, Dr Rabiat Shehu- Jimoh, said names of some food vendors found wanting in the state had been listed and submitted to Abuja for appropriate action.

She said, “We have recorded the names of some cooks that are receiving money and not cooking. We have sent their names to Abuja and we are going to change them.”

Shehu-Jimoh made the disclosure during a stakeholders’ consultative workshop on development of national policy for the national homegrown school feeding programme organised by the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development held in Ilorin, Kwara State yesterday.

Her submissions were corroborated by the state’s lead for the programme, Mrs Christy Abayomi.

“We cannot overlook their (food vendors) action because if we overlook their actions, we are short changing our children,” Abayomi said.

The workshop also decried the politicisation of the food vendors being engaged for the programme.

Participants advocated that, “only food vendors and local farmers resident in the host community of the schools targeted to benefit in the homegrown school feeding programme should be engaged for the job.”

They also advocated that ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) relevant to the programme should capture school feeding schemes in their budgets and ensure that such funds were released for the intended purpose.