The Kogi State Government has sacked 111 cooks in 2022 for allegedly engaging in fraudulent activities during the Federal Government school feeding program in the State.
The Kogi State Focal Person of National Social Investment Program (NSIP), Abdukareem Onyekehi Suleiman disclosed in Lokoja at a public hearing held at the Kogi State House of Assembly on A Bill for a Law for The Establishment of Kogi State Social Investment Programme Agency on Thursday.
It was gathered that, the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP) was introduced during former President Muhammadu Buhari regime with the aims of improving the health status, enrollment and educational outcomes of public primary school pupils.
Onyekehi averred that, the Kogi State Government had engage 3000 cooks in Kogi for the school feeding program, adding that, some cooks keeps engaging in sharp practices after receiving payment from Federal Government to prepare meals for School pupils.
He said "Whatever you do in a public office, it is important you ensure accountability and ensure sanctions in case of fraud. We are coordinated. We have Local Government coordinators monitoring the programs and we are also working with anti graft agencies and secret service that are part of this program.
" We have had cases where some cooks that are supposed to be preparing meals for School pupils receives money and they will not prepare the meals. We have about 3000 cooks and we have disciplinedy 111 of them in recent time.
"We recommend them for removal from the scheme and we have reported them to the appropriate authority for discipline and punishment they deserved. We found out that they received money and they will not prepare meals for our school pupils.
" Some of them are also not doing it in line with the guidelines. All this things, we have our report and we have given appropriate punishment. We have also made arrest of some people who commit fraud in the various Local Government concerning other interventions from Government to cushion the hardship in our Country.
"We are not taking it likely from anybody. Immediately the agency gets it's report, we always swing into action and sanction whoever violates the program or defraud the people of Kogi State.
Onyekehi, who disclosed that not all schools have been captured in the program said the government before now has been feeding 177,000 pupils in Kogi State and their target is to capture all the public primary schools in the state to accommodate all pupils in primary 1-3.
While noting that the State Government last recruited additional over 800 cooks in 2021, the Kogi State Focal Person of NSIP gave reasons why the program has not continued for sometimes.
" The Federal Government is carrying out enumeration and revalidation exercise to continue the process. They could not approve the additional cooks yet to capture more schools that will accommodate more pupils that have not benefitted from the program. That is one challenge. Another challenge is that, for over a year, we have not done school feeding program. "Why, because of electioneering, change of government and stabilization of the ministry to continue the program.
"In 2020, there was no school feeding program at all because of the COVID-19 pandemic and 2021 began towards end of the year. As a result we have been relatively inconsistent in the program.
"We hope that in the renewed Hope mantra of President Tinubu, we are hoping to hit the ground running and make the program to be more consistent and frequent in a bid to meet the objective of the Government. On our own, we are going to initiate our own state policy that will compliment the policy of the federal government by doing it differently in line with the peculiarity of our State to ensure we alleviate poverty in Kogi State"he stated.
Onyekehi argued that, the National Social Investment Program (NSIP), in Kogi State has achieved more under his leadership, stressing that, the State was recently adjudged the best in Nigeria which was made possible with the maximum support of Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State.
On the positive move by the Kogi State Government to create the ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, the
NSIP focal person in the State described it as a welcome development adding that, it's operation will be backed by law and help to address the challenges of vulnerable people in Kogi State.
Continuing,Onyekehi said "As a matter of fact, Kogi State was rated as the best NSIP in Nigeria in all ramifications. We have good record in terms of office complex, coordination, effective implementations, responsiveness, transparency and reporting mechanism at the federal ministry of humanitarian affair under my supervision. All programs are housed under one roof which made it easier for effective coordination. This wouldn't have been possible without the support of his excellency Alhaji Yahaya Adoza Bello.
"What we are doing is simple. We are the first state in Nigeria to establish ministry for the Program and also establishing the corresponding agency for the program at the same time. We are doing this to institutionalize and sustain the programs because we know the importance of this programs in the lives of the vulnerable group of people in our society.
"We know the impact it has created because it has benefited over 350,000 directly and indirectly. Because the program is not directly under the law in the State, we are limited to certain things we can do on our own. We operate some of this program on federal government and world bank guidelines and such procedures must not be violated.
"Because of the peculiarity of our State, we are facing some challenges based on the way and structure some of this things are created. That is why it is important that in Kogi State, we establish our own agency to be backed by law so that why still relying and implementing Federal Government program in line with their set standards, we should also have our own version of social intervention Initiatives that will address the need of our people".
Copyright: Fresh Angle International (www.freshangleng.com)
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