By Harry Awurumibe, Editor Abuja Bureau
Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiya Umar-Farouk has given an update on the on-going National Open School Feeding Programme.
The Minister spoke to State House Correspondents in Abuja Wednesday after the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Speaking on how far her ministry has gone with the National Open School Feeding Programme, she said:
“You may recall that during the lockdown, the President directed that we should have discussions with state governors to identify the best model to be used in continuing the programme. This, we did, by identifying model of taking food ration to the homes of these children.
“We have successfully done that in FCT, Lagos, and Ogun State. Discussions are still ongoing with the remaining states to see how we can continue with this programme. We thought schools will open before. Now that schools remain closed, we have opened up our discussions with the state governors.
“On the issue of our key achievements, we have carried out interventions timely and promptly in the areas of disasters when they occur as we respond immediately. We have interventions in the areas of palliatives that we distributed during the COVID-19 lockdown. I’m happy to inform you that we have been able to take all these interventions to the affected states as directed.
I want to also say that we have challenges, including inadequate funding.
“It may surprise you to know that we are really challenged by that. We also have structural issues in the ministry, especially the issue of office accommodation. It’s a challenge which we highlighted today. The states are not really living up to their expectations of meeting up with the Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) that we signed with them on some of the programmes. We highlighted quite a number of challenges.
“We have been able to give timely responses to the emergencies. And we have been able to put in place a structure even within the period that we have come on board. We are barely one year old. I’m happy to inform you that we now have a full fledge ministry with all agencies and programmes under the ministry coordinated very well.
“We have also been able to carry out the directives by Mr President in areas of moratorium of two months we are asked to give to the GEEP beneficiaries
We have also expanded national social register by one million, which is also a directive by Mr President. We have also been able to deploy grains from the strategic reserves to frontline states”, the Minister concluded.
