Benue govt set to implement school feeding scheme

THE Benue Government says it is set to implement the school feeding scheme of the Social Investments Programme, an initiative of the Federal Government.

The Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Social Investments, Mr Terhide Utaan, made the disclosure while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in Makurdi on Wednesday.

According to Utaan, all the necessary items needed for the smooth implementation of the programme have been procured and are ready for distribution to food vendors to kick-start it.

He said the programme would start immediately the accounts of vendors were credited next week.

“All the cooks have been trained. Multi-sectoral meetings with vendors, caterers, farmers and other key stakeholders had been organised,

“We have procured items, including cooking pots, coolers, water drums, basin for washing and spatulas”, he said.

Utaan did not, however, disclose how much was so far spent on the procurements.

According to him, it is a process and we are just starting.

NAN reports that the programme is meant to boost the pupil’s nutrition and encourage enrolment in public primary schools.

It is also to reduce unemployment, tackle poverty and create a ready market for agricultural produce.

The Benue Social Investment Office had said 866,502 public primary school pupils would benefit from the scheme.

The pupils are those from classes one to three of the 2,756 public primary schools across the state.