School Feeding Programme : Food Vendors Cryout Over Decrease In Allowance

Picture of school children under school feeding program. Picture credit : PremiumTimes. 

Food Vendors Cry out against slash in monthly allowance.

Food vendors under Social Investment Programmes (SIP) contracted to provide meals for children in Bauchi lament over the slash of monthly allowance from N80, 000 to N40, 000. 

Hadiza Shehu head of the vendors in a town hall meeting which was out together by the government of Bauchi in.... with the senate committee on Poverty Alleviation and Social Investment Programme State revealed that the money given to vendors by the officials of SIP was not enough to carry out the task.

She said, 

" Our members have directed me to beg the Chairman Senate Committee on Social Investment Programmes to deliver our pleas to Mr President that the prices of commodities have increased in the market and beg him to increase the money because what we are receiving now  is very low  to meet up the required quantity and quality for the children.

“ In the past, we use to receive between N75,000 to N80,000 to provide meals of 80 pupils for 20 days but the money has been reduced to N40,000. We are pleading to the distinguish senator to help us inform the President of our predicament and increase the money by returning to the previous payment so that both the children and vendors can benefit.

" Majority of the vendors are widows who depend on the little profit to feed their orphans. ” 

Speaking at the meeting, An Islamic scholar and Imam of a Jummaat Mosque in Bauchi, Dr Abubakar Zubairu Madaki, placed a demand on the Federal Government to allocate certain slots of the Special Investment Programme to religious and opinion leaders to compliment their efforts to assisting government in enlightening the public.

Hajiya Amina the State focal Person on Social Investment Programmes and Special Adviser to the Governor on (SIP), also revealed that no pupil was fed during the four months of COVID-19 pandemic induced holidays.

Senator Lawal Gumau, Chairman, Senate Committee on Poverty Alleviation and Social Investment Programme said in his remark. that the committee was in Bauchi and would visit some other states to conduct oversight function and assured that the social investment program would be extended to farmers in 2021 and advised beneficiaries to invest wisely as a plan to be self-reliant before exiting after two years.