From Okwe Obi, Abuja
Deputy Governor of Cross River State Prof Ivara Esu has said that the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP) has increased enrollment of primary school pupils in the state.
Prof Esu made this known on Wednesday when members of the NHGSFP Project Task Team paid him a courtesy visit in Calabar.
Aside from thanking the Federal Government for initiating the scheme, Esu praised the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, for her steadfastness in ensuring that the Buhari administration drastically reduces poverty and improves the literacy standards of children through the school feeding programme.
‘I want to thank the Federal Government and the minister for her focus on initiating poverty reduction programmes in the state especially the National Home Grown Feeding Programme,’ the deputy governor said.
‘Since the commencement of the programme in Cross River State, there has been an increase in school enrolment.
‘This is good news for the education sector as every country will like to reduce the illiteracy population of its citizenry.
‘The minister has been doing so much in her ministry with many social investment programmes to help the poor in the country for which I will greatly commend her.
‘We in Cross River State are committed to the success of the NHGSFP and will collaborate with the Project Task Team to ensure an accurate enumeration excercise in the state,’ he said.
Earlier, the minister, represented by the Zonal Monitor, Sunday Okoh, stated that President Muhammadu Buhari recognised the social challenges in the country, hence the decision to put up decisive measures to fight poverty.
In a statement by her Special Adviser on Media, Nneka Ikem Anibeze, she said: ‘The implementation of the National Social Investment Program (NSIP) is made up of four unique clusters that are integrated to provide the maximum impact. In its implementation, the NSIP is strategically designed to fully involve all stakeholders, most especially the State Governments.
‘Today, we are here in Cross River State on the strength of our partnership and mutual recognition of the need to do more on the NHGSFP.
‘We will bring more Nigerians under the umbrella of the Government’s social protection mechanism and scale up the numbers of the pupils benefiting from the programme as directed by His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari.’
Over 9 million pupils are currently benefiting from one free nutritious meal a day during school term nationwide, with a federal mandate to reach an additional 5 million pupils by 2023.