School feeding: FG targets 100,000 displaced children

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on School Feeding, Dr. Yetunde Adeniji, has disclosed that the Federal Government plans to feed 100,000 displaced children in the North.

Adeniji revealed the plan when her delegation sought the support of the Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, and the Emir of Borgu Kingdom, Mohammed Dantoro, to help facilitate the programme during a familiarisation tour.

The presidential aide said the FG plans to start with 5,000 of the displaced kids for the first phase of the feeding initiative with the hope of increasing the number to 100,000 subsequently.

This was disclosed in a statement issued in Abuja on Saturday by her media team.

The statement read, “It is noteworthy that Dr. Yetunde Adeniji, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on School Feeding, and her team paid a courtesy visit to HRH Dr. Barrister Mohammed Sani Dantoro, the Emir of Borgu Kingdom, to seek support in deepening the federal government school feeding programme.

“During the visit, the Emir expressed his commitment to providing continuous support for the programme initiated by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. He also raised concerns regarding the challenges facing the school feeding programme, emphasising that effective implementation, monitoring, and evaluation are crucial for its sustainability.

“This programme plans to capture 5,000 displaced children at the first instance, with the hope of increasing it to 50,000 and 100,000 subsequently.”

Continuing, Adeniji stated that the Emir highlighted the importance of meeting the expectations of the overall implementation of the initiative and the need to address all perceived obstacles and bottlenecks.

Shortly after they left the Emirate, the delegation was also granted an audience by the governor as an extension of the familiarisation tour of the North.

“We recognised the capacity of President Tinubu’s Senior Special Assistant to bring reforms that will see to the success of the schools feeding programme.

‘We also believe the incorporation of the Almajiri as one of the new reforms in the programme is an idea that will help in taking them off the streets. We want to assure you of the support of the Nasarawa State Government towards meeting the objective of the programme,” the governor stated.

The travelling team also met with the Federal Commissioner, National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, Aliyu Tijani, where they planned to also foster collaboration and address school feeding concerns for a diverse group of children, including IDPs, Almajiris, and individuals with disabilities.