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Crime & Punishment of Friday, 2 July 2021

Source: www.legit.ng

Teachers, food vendors arrested for diverting school feeding programme items

School children having lunch School children having lunch

A number of people in charge of the federal government's Home Grown School Feeding programme have been arrested The suspects including teachers, food vendors and desk officers were apprehended by DSS operatives for allegedly diverting raw food.

According to the report, majority of the suspects were arrested from a primary school in Minna, Niger state.

Niger state - Many teachers and desk officers in charge of the federal government Home Grown School Feeding programme have been arrested by operatives of the Directorate of State Security Service (DSS) for allegedly sabotaging the programme.

Ten food vendors were also arrested for allegedly conniving with the teachers and the desk officers to shortchange the process.

It was learnt that majority of those nabbed were from the Central Primary school in Minna, Niger State, while arrests were also made from schools in Katcha in Katcha Local Government Area, and in Gwada in the Shiroro LGA of the state.

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Apart from allegedly diverting raw food meant for pupils in the schools, it was learnt that those arrested in Gwada allegedly took away 30 crates of eggs meant for the breakfast of some of the pupils, which they allegedly sold to local food sellers in the town.

As a result of the under-the-table dealing, it was gathered that four pupils were being made to share just one egg during their meals.

The state Focal Person of the School Feeding Programme, Mrs. Amina Guar, when contacted, confirmed the story, saying security operatives have been informed about the development.

She said the organisation was able to trace the crates of eggs diverted by those concerned to tea sellers in Gwada town, adding that: “We were able to retrieve the eggs and return them to the school concerned.

“It is true that some of our teachers at the Central Primary School are currently with the DSS, in fact some of them fainted on getting there.

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“We have zero tolerance for corruption of any sort; feeding fat at the expense of innocent children is unacceptable to any rational thinking person,” Guar said, adding that she was rushing to the DSS office to know the situation of things.

10million pupils currently benefiting from FG’s feeding programme Earlier, the minister of humanitarian affairs, disaster management, and social development, Sadiya Farouq declared that no fewer than 10 million pupils are benefiting from the federal government’s school feeding programme across the country.

The minister disclosed this on Tuesday, May 25 during the flag-off of the nationwide distribution of utensils under the NHGSFP.

Farouq said that the government is totally committed to the initiative which recently resumed after the COVID-19 pandemic break.

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Meanwhile, the minister of humanitarian affairs, disaster management and social development flagged-off the training of 5000 independent monitors for effective monitoring of the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP) programme.

Farouq disclosed this during the flagged off of the event in Abuja on Saturday, February 5. She said 5000 independent monitors would be assigned to monitor the programme beneficiaries at the community level in school’s household.

She urged the monitors to carry out the responsibility with utmost diligence and sincerity and that the ministry would not hesitate to take them off their engagement with security agents such as EFCC and the ICPC to monitor these programmes.