By Our Correspondent 19th October, 2024
In preparation for relaunching of the Home-Grown School Feeding Programme, the Senior Special Assistant to Ondo State Governor on Social Investment Programme, Barr Felix Alonge has conducted Sensitization and Revalidation program for Cooks who are beneficiaries of the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme (HGSFP) in the state.
It could be recalled that President Bola Tinubu suspended the programme in January as part of a broader probe into alleged irregularities within the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA) which also affected other social investment initiatives such as N-Power and the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT).
Speaking, Alonge emphasized the imperativeness of the sensitisation program which he said will cover all the 18 local governments of the state.
The SSA highlighted that the relaunch of the school feeding programme would improve students’ health and well-being and incentivise them to remain in school, thereby reducing the number of out-of-school children.
He stressed the need for the cooks, aggregators and other value chains on the programme to be effectively sensitised in order to gauge the implementation and compliance level for effective service delivery.
“We all know that the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme (HGSFP) is an important component of the National Social Investment Program (NSIP) in Ondo State and as we all know, Ondo is always a pacesetter for other states on terms of thorough implementation”.
He said there’s need to revalidate the cooks for the program in the public primary schools, saying Cooks that are medically fit would be engaged for better hygiene for the pupils.
His Words, ” We are only preparing the Cooks for the programme that will soon commence. It also an avenue to select Cooks that are medically fit and qualified and if there’s need to replace, we make necessary replacement”.
He commended the Iniative as another way of not only feeding the pupils with balanced meals but also help in creating employment to many people like aggregators and other value chains.
“This programme is highly beneficiary to the masses-the Cooks, Aggregators, Rural Farmers among others will benefit from the scheme which is another way of boosting the economy of Ondo State”.
Alonge thanked the Governor of Ondo State, Hon Lucky Aiyedatiwa who is fully committed to the programme, providing necessary logistics and support for the sucess of the programme in Ondo State.
He appealed to the people of Ondo State to support and cast their votes for the Governor in the November 16 Governorship Election for continuity of the Programme.
“People of Ondo State can testify to the huge success recorded under the Home grown schools feeding and for this laudable programme to continue, we must all join hands together and vote for All Progressive Congress and it’s candidate, Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa”.
Also, the SSA on Youth Empowerment and Job Creation, Hon Gbayisemore Orioye urged the Cooks to be committed to the programme.
Others government officials in the SIP team includes Senior Special Assistant to Mr Governor on Youth Empowerment and Job Creation, Hon Gbayisemore Orioye, Permanent Secretary, Public and Inter-Governmental Relations, Mrs Pirisola Yemi among others.
