We fed 11,965 pupils last year- Lagos says

Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Civic Engagement, Princess Aderemi Adebowale has revealed that the Lagos State Government fed 11,965 pupils in primary schools in the last one year through a pilot programme tagged: ‘Snacks For Thought’, as part of efforts to ensure that pupils in Lagos public schools are well catered for.

Speaking at the Y2020 Ministerial Press Briefing in commemoration of the first year anniversary of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration at the JJT Park, Alausa, Ikeja, on Wednesday, Adebowale said the pupils, drawn from Crèche and Primary four to six were fed, through the programme, to complement the Home Grown School Feeding Programme of the Federal Government which covered only pupils in Primary one to three.

Adebowale added that this was to ensure that that all primary school pupils in Lagos State partake in the school feeding programme held in Lagos Island Local Government where 33 public primary schools, with a total of 11,965 pupils participating in the one-week exercise.

The Special Adviser informed that the importance of the initiative could not be over-emphasised as the feeding programme was aimed at improving memory retention of lessons learnt by the pupils, school attendance and academic performance as well as serve as an incentive for higher enrolment and regular participation by pupils in public schools.

She added that as part of the social inclusion programme, the Office introduced and organised a financial assistance programme with a business component labelled ‘EKO CARES’ (formerly known as Sanwo-Olu Cares), with the theme, “Go Forward, Grow Lagos”.

Averring that the programme was directed at empowering the vulnerable people in the State, the Special Adviser said the initiative involved providing financial assistance up to N20,000 per beneficiary, partly in cash and partly in the form of micro-investment.