FG’s School Feeding Programme Achieving Its Objective Of Children’s

Kogi State Focal Person of the Federal Government’s National Social Investment Programme (NSIP), Mr Abdulkareem Onyekehi, has said that national Homegrown School Feeding Programme (HGSFP) is achieving its key goals and objectives in the state.

Onyekehi disclosed this in an interview at the sidelines of the flag off of the distribution of Feeding Utensils to the beneficiaries of the HGSFP in Kogi, at Saint Luke Primary School, Lokoja, on Thursday.

According to Onyekehi, the aimed at delivering feeding to public schools’ pupils from primary 1 to 3, is achieving its purpose and objectives in Kogi State.

Onyekehi said that the NHGSFP covered about 1,800 schools, and 177,000 pupils out of the total of 258,000 that had been captured were benefitting from the programme.

He added that efforts are on to capture all pupils in public primary schools from classes 1-3 as they progressed.

He emphasised that the HGSFP had geometrically increased school enrollment in Kogi, according to pupils’ population statistics from 115,000 to 258,000 pupils.

Onyekehi, who doubles as the Special Adviser to the Governor on Special Projects, stressed that the feeding programme has also drastically reduced malnutrition among the pupils while alleviating the suffering of their parents and guardians.

He added that the other components of NSIP such as the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT), the NPower, the Government Enterprise and Empowerment program (GEEP), had impacted positively in the lives of the beneficiaries as well as the economy of the state.

He said that the number of CCT beneficiaries in Kogi for the poor and vulnerable citizens, has increased steadily from 2016 to 74,111 in 2021, describing it as a huge success.

He reiterated that the NSIP remains the most impactful social intervention programmes any government had ever initiated in this country in terms of poverty alleviation, entrepreneurial and job creation.

He commended the Minister for the distribution of the feeding utensils, while appreciating President Muhammadu Buhari for the initiative.

He eulogised the governor for his unalloyed support for the programme, saying, ”we are grateful to our amiable and pragmatic Governor for taking the lead as far as the NSIP is concerned in Kogi.

NAN reports that the distribution of the utensils was launched by the Secretary to Kogi State Government, Dr Afolashade Ayoade, on behalf of the Governor, after they were handed over to the state by the Minister’s representative, Malam Aliyu Sogudo, a Deputy Director in the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development.