Wale Edun, minister of finance and the coordinating minister
of the economy, says the federal government plans to relaunch the suspended
school feeding programme.
Edun said the government would ensure adequate resources are
available to support and sustain educational programmes across the country.
The minister spoke on Thursday when the house of
representatives committee on alternative education visited him, according to a
statement by Mohammed Manga, director of information and public relations at
the ministry of finance.
The ministry said the meeting was held to address the
pressing issue of out-of-school children in Nigeria, providing a platform for
the minister to outline the government’s financial strategies and programmes
aimed at tackling the challenge.
Speaking at the meeting, Edun reaffirmed the federal
government’s commitment to strengthening education.
He said through a lineup of initiatives, every child will be
provided with access to quality education.
The minister said these initiatives would “positively impact
the national budget by providing sufficient resources to support and sustain
the educational programs”.
Edun also announced the upcoming relaunch of the ‘Home-Grown
School Feeding Program’ — an initiative designed to increase school attendance
by providing meals to students.
He said, “feeding children at school would not only improve
their health and well-being but also incentivise them to remain in school,
thereby reducing the number of out-of-school children”.
The minister said the government is dedicated to tackling
critical issues through innovative initiatives like the “secretariat for
financing safe schools” and the “home-grown school feeding program”.
“As the government continues to prioritise education,
Nigeria’s future generations can expect improved access to quality learning,
setting the stage for a brighter, and more prosperous tomorrow,” Edun added.
On January 12, President Bola Tinubu suspended all
programmes, including school feeding, administered by the National Social
Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA), as part of a probe into alleged
irregularities in the management of the agency and its activities.
On January 2, Tinubu suspended Halima Shehu as the chief
executive officer (CEO) of NSIPA over alleged financial malfeasance.
The president also suspended Betta Edu as minister of
humanitarian affairs and poverty alleviation on January 8.
Edu’s ministry supervises the operations of the NSIPA.
The programmes affected include N-Power, the conditional
cash transfer (CCT), the government enterprise and empowerment programme, and
the home-grown school feeding initiative.
On March 13, the house of representatives asked the federal
government to resume the implementation of the suspended social investment
initiatives.
However, the green chamber later decided to probe the
suspended school feeding programme, arguing that a complete cancellation of the
initiative “may cause more harm”.
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