From: Laide Raheem, Abeokuta
Ogun State government, on Monday, kicked-off the free meal programme for pupils in all public primary schools as part of the social Intervention programme of President Muhammdu Buhari’s administration.
The programme, tagged ‘Ogun Home Grown School Feeding Programme’, according to the state government, would be implemented in the 1,554 primary schools across the state with pupils in primaries 1 to 3 as beneficiaries of the first phase.
Kicking off the programme yesterday at the St. Paul’s Demonstration School, Onikolobo, Abeokuta, Governor Ibikunle Amosun explained that the programme would start simultaneously in 874 schools in the first phase.
Represented by his deputy, Mrs. Yetunde Onanuga, Amosun disclosed 2,968 women have been enrolled and trained as food vendors for the programme, out of which 1,381 vendors commenced operation on the spot.
The governor added other vendors and pupils would be added as soon as documentation issues are resolved noting women empowerment scheme was embedded in the programme.
The programme, Amosun stated, “would provide hot and nutritionally balanced mean to pupils, improved school performance and health status, boost in enrolment figure in all schools, greater school retention record and above all boosting the Employment Generation programme and poverty alleviation”.
He, however, declared that every food item would be sourced locally with enhance the production and income capacities of farmers and suppliers of various products.
In her remark, the Programme coordinator in Ogun State, Tinuola Shopeju, said preparations for the take-off of the programme started eight months ago in conjunction with the federal government.
According to her, it was to achieve highly detailed standard as prescribed for states by the federal government.