The National Social Investment Office (NSIO) has described as misleading, claims that the Federal Government is providing N50 per meal for pupils feeding in public primary schools, in Kaduna State.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) had reported that some food vendors of the Federal Government’s Home Grown School Feeding Programme in Kaura Local Government Area of Kaduna had last Sunday complained that N35 was grossly inadequate to prepare a quality meal.
The vendors told NAN in Kaura that they supplied the food at N50 per plate, with N35 as cost price and N15 profit.
Desk Officer of the programme in the local government, Yakubu Kajang, confirmed that the 261 vendors in the area received N50 per plate directly from the Federal Government.
READ ALSO: Zamfara dep. gov. rejects Yari’s anointed guber candidate
The vendors said the cost of food items in the market had made it impossible for them to prepare a plate of rice with beans, fish, vegetables and crayfish at N35.
They appealed to the Federal Government to review the rate from N50 to N100 per plate in line with current market prices.
Reacting to the report, Special Adviser to the President on Social Investments, Maryam Uwais, refuted the claim saying that when the Kaduna State Government commenced funding of the school feeding programme in January 2016, the engaged cooks were paid N50 per meal for each of the pupils assigned to them.
“After the Federal Government, through the NSIO, took over the funding of Kaduna State School Feeding Programme in August 2017, the cost of feeding per child was increased to N70 per meal.
“Consequently, for Monday to Thursday of every school week, N62.50 is paid directly into each cook’s bank account, considering the N30 which is paid directly to the Kaduna State Poultry Association for the supply of eggs to all the cooks as part of the menu selected for Wednesdays.”