Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo on Thursday inaugurated the Federal Government’s national Home-Grown School Feeding programme.
The event, which was held inside the old Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, was also witnessed by state governors including Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo); Rauf Aregbesola (Osun); Nasir el-Rufai (Kaduna); and Kashim Shettima (Borno).
The programme, which will benefit about 5.5 million primary school pupils in the first year of its operation is part of the N500bn social investment plans of the present administration.
According to an overview of the scheme presented at the inauguration, the plan runs till 2020 and forms the cornerstone of the nationwide Home-Grown School Feeding programme which when fully realised will provide a meal a day to over 24 million primary schoolchildren.
“Not only will the Home-Grown School Feeding programme help our pupils become better students, it will also boost the local economies, and create new jobs along the way,” Osinbajo said at the inauguration.
He said the government was working with states and local communities as well as those he described as technical partners for the successful implementation of the programme.
Aregbesola, while sharing his state’s experience with those in attendance, said the Osun State Government currently “feeds 252, 793 pupils daily.”
He said his government engaged the services of 3,007 vendors for that purpose.
El-Rufai also disclosed that “the Kaduna State Government feeds 1.5m pupils daily.”
He also said the scheme had made school enrollment in primary schools to rise by 64 per cent.
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