Nigeria’s School Feeding Programme during COVID-19, ploy to steal N13.5bn —PDP

The People’s Democratic Party (PD{) has accused the Nigerian Government of planning to steal N13.5 billion while disguising the plan as feeding school children during COVID-19 pandemic.

PDP spokesperson, Kola Olognondiyan in a statement on Thursday questioned the rationale behind feeding school children while schools were indefinitely shut due to Coronavirus outbreak.

The statement reads in part, “While it is clear that the APC-led administration’s school feeding programme had always been a scam, the claim to feed school children even when schools are closed is a colossal racketeering taken too far.

“This goes to further expose that stealing and corruption are deeply engrained in the DNA of the APC and its administration.

“While the PDP has nothing against any transparent effort to provide succour to Nigerians, particularly our children, at this critical time, our party rejects the on-going fraud in which school children, who are in their respective homes, bearing the brunt of the failures of the APC administration, are being used as metaphors to divert public funds to a few corrupt individuals in the Buhari Presidency.

“Nigerians are witnesses to how the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Umar Farouq, had always stammered, makes conflicting pronouncements and points to Mr President’s speech as a cover each time Nigerians demand for details of her humongous spending.

“The minister had failed to provide details of how she intends to reach the 9.7 million school children, who are now in their homes in different locations since the closure of schools, even as officials continue to muddle up required documentations in a bid to cover their tracks.

“Nigerians are invited to note how the minister contradicted herself in claiming that the food would be shared door-to door and in the same breath, averred that vouchers would be allocated at specific collection times to avoid overcrowding.

“Such contradiction only betrays an unwholesome tendency, as Nigerians wonder how there would be overcrowding on door-to-door distribution of food to children who are claimed to have been individually designated in various locations.

“If these officials indeed mean well for the school children, they should hand over the funds to the ministry of education in the respective states for appropriate dispensation to properly identified and documented vulnerable children.”

Photo caption:

Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouq, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development giving out Take-Home Ratio Kits to one of the parents of the pupils in Kuje Central Primary School on Thursday in Abuja. Photo: Collins Yakubu-Hammer (NAN)