The lawmakers, after conducting an investigation, alleged that the programme was marred by a lot of malpractices.
Members of the Niger State House of Assembly have alleged that pupils, benefiting from the national home-grown school feeding programme of the Muhammadu Buhari’s government, are being fed expired rice and given a quarter of an egg for their meals.
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The lawmakers, after conducting an investigation, alleged that the programme was marred by a lot of malpractices and sharp practices from officials and vendors.
Nigerian children in an internally displaced persons camp
Disclosing the findings of the investigation while raising a matter of urgent importance during plenary, the member representing Suleja Constituency, Liman Iya, said pupils were served poor and under-nourished meals.
He said, “We wonder why primary school pupils in the state are served with poor and under nutritious meals. We are disturbed by this as it will defeat the purpose of the programme.
“I received a lot of messages showing pictures of the type of food being fed to the children. Our investigation showed that the type of rice is an expired quantity of rice and God knows how it was prepared.
“The ration given to the children is not enough. Certain meals that should be for one person are shared among three pupils.
“There are so many complaints across the state. So many malpractices are happening that need to be addressed.”
He further called on the assembly to summon the state focal person of the Home Grown School Feeding Programme and all the focal persons in the local government areas to answer to the issues raised.
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At the end of the deliberation, Niger Speaker Abdullahi Bawa Wuse said the state focal person for the programmes should appear to defend the allegations.
