This was disclosed by Aderemi Adebowale, National Programme Manager of the National Social Investment Programme Agency, during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja.
The Nigerian government has announced plans to scale up the National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme to reach 50 million primary school pupils by 2026.
This was disclosed by Aderemi Adebowale, National Programme Manager of the National Social Investment Programme Agency, during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja.
“We are working to include early years – primary 1 to 3, primary 4 to 6 – in the school feeding programme, and also out-of-school children, which we are handling step by step to integrate.
“So, by the year 2026, we are looking at feeding close to 50 million pupils in primary school in Nigeria.
“Ideally, school feeding should be between N500 to N1,000 per child.
“Even at N500 per child, you should be able to still give the children a nutritious and delicious meal on a daily basis,” she said.
Adebowale explained that the agency regulates prices by creating an alliance of smallholder farmers, aggregators, supply chain actors, and development partners.
“So, we have to agree on prices from our suppliers, agri-vendors and farmers to arrive at a reasonable cost per plate. Once we do that, we will follow up on the payment and service delivery,” she said.
The Nigerian Government relaunched the Renewed Hope National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme (RH-NHGSFP) on May 29.
Past Instances Of Corruption
Previously, the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP) in Nigeria, aimed at providing nutritious meals to primary school students, faced significant challenges with corruption in the past.
These issues undermined the programme’s effectiveness in achieving its goals of improving child nutrition, boosting school enrollment, and supporting local farmers.
A notable case occurred during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020 when the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) reported discovering ₦2.67 billion meant for school feeding in federal colleges had been deposited into personal accounts. This was particularly concerning as schools were closed at the time.
In October 2022, the Nasarawa State government uncovered 349 “ghost schools” listed as beneficiaries in the feeding programme. These were non-existent schools or schools not participating in the scheme, indicating potential fraudulent claims. There have also been reports of food vendors disappearing after receiving payments without providing meals.
Allegations have frequently surfaced regarding the poor quality and insufficient portions of meals provided to students. This suggests that funds allocated for adequate and nutritious food may have been misappropriated, leading to compromised meal standards.
Delays and inconsistencies in payments to food vendors have been reported across several states. Also, there have been concerns about the transparency of procurement processes, with potential cost inflation and contract awarding under questionable circumstances.
Funds meant for food procurement and logistics were reportedly diverted or misused, with little accountability.
In some cases, meals were claimed to be served in schools that either didn’t exist or had far fewer pupils than reported. This inflated data allowed contractors and officials to siphon off money meant for actual feeding.
Contracts for food supply and cooking were often awarded based on political connections rather than merit or capacity. This led to inefficiencies, poor food quality, and in some cases, total failure to deliver meals.
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