Africa Press-Nigeria:
The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Farouk, has revealed that the federal government spent about N523.3 million on school feeding programme during the lockdown against the Coronavirus pandemic.
The minister disclosed this at the Presidential Taskforce briefing on COVID-19 on Monday in Abuja.
She said that the program was modified and implemented in three states following a March 29 Presidential directive.
According to her, each take-home ration was valued at N4,200 and the EFCC, CCB, ICPC, DSS and some NGOs were reportedly invited to monitor the process.
She said “It is critical at this juncture to provide details that will help puncture the tissue of lies being peddled in the public space.
“The provision of ‘Take Home Rations’, under the modified Home Grown School Feeding programme, was not a sole initiative of the MHADMSD.
“The ministry, in obeying the presidential directive, went into consultations with state governments through the state Governor’s Forum, following which it was resolved that ‘take-home rations remained a most viable option for feeding children during the lockdown.
“So, it was a joint resolution of the ministry and the state governments to give out take-home rations.
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“The stakeholders also resolved that we would start with the FCT, Lagos and Ogun States, as pilot cases.
“According to statistics from the NBS and CBN, a typical household in Nigeria has 5.6 to six members in its household, with three to four dependents.
“So, each household is assumed to have three children.
