NANS to FG, stop school feeding programme now or face mother of all protests

By Ezurike Ugochukwu

The Federal Government has been warned to stop the continued National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme or be ready for a nationwide protest by the National Association of Nigerian Students(NAN).

The NANS President, Danielson Akpan,  described the ongoing feeding programme as claimed by the government as a misplaced priority and a “discreet attempt to swindle the hard-earned resources of the nation

The students umbrella body was responding to the explanation by the Federal Government on Friday, through the Honourable Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar-Farouq, that it continued the National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme because it was practically impossible to get back the funds that had already been paid to food vendors before the commencement of lockdown in states. .

Akpan said  the source of such reckless spending of  the proposed sum of N697m to be spent daily, which  amounted to N13.5bn a month on the programme, must be queried.

To this end, he said:  “The national body of NANS, after a deliberate and robust discussion on the Federal Government’s decision to commence the school feeding programme during a virtual meeting held earlier this morning (Friday), vehemently rejected and condemned in totality the said decision.

“We condemn in totality the plan to feed school children at home. We see it as an avenue to perpetuate corruption and fraudulent activities.

“We do not only condemn this, we also frown at any attempt by some people to further loot our national treasury. The continuation of the school feeding programme at this period that schools are closed is sheer fraud.

“If the Federal Government goes ahead to implement the programme, we will have no choice but to mobilise our members across the federation for a mother of all protests,” he said.

The body therefore advised that the fund earmarked for the execution of the programme be used for the revival of the nation’s collapsed education system and fund infrastructural projects in institutions of learning.

Speaking in Abuja at the daily briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 on why the Federal Government continued with the programme despite the lockdown, Umar-Farouq, stressed that government could not get back the funds it had already invested in the hands of vendors for the food items.She therefore urged Nigerians to support the scheme.

Hon. Minister of Humaniterian Affairs,Umar-Farouq, and President Buhari

“Because the programme was already ongoing, food vendors had already been contracted and mobilised for the project. We are also mindful of the fact that most vendors, having been mobilised, had made purchases preparatory to the project execution. It is just not possible to ask them for refunds.

“This had been done before the school calendar was disrupted. In light of this, demanding a refund will be cumbersome and unrealistic.”

The minister however repudiated as false, the claim that the nation spends N697 million daily on the programme, that rather, each of the pupils are given pack of food worth N4,000.