Date: 2017-11-28

The Kwara State Government has cleared the air on why the Federal Government Social Investment Programme (SIP); Home Grown School Feeding has not commenced in the state.

The Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Youth Empowerment, Alhaji Saka Babatunde, informed Pilot Education at the weekend that the Federal Government is yet to release funds for the commencement of the programme in Kwara.

Babatunde noted that all arrangements have been concluded on the part of the state government to access the programme.

He added that food vendors have gone through screenings adding that those that passed have been employed to attend to participate in the programme.

"The home grown school feeding is a Federal Government’s programme and the needed funds have not been released to us yet.

"On our part, we have interviewed the food vendors and we have contacted farmers that will provide their farm produce. We are very prepared and my office is involved though we are not the major driver. Logistically, we are prepared as we’ve screened many organisations that will participate in the programme," he stressed.

Meanwhile, the Governor’s aide has implored the Federal Government to partner the state in order to address the challenges facing volunteers of N-Power programme.

In a related development, the Oyo State House of Assembly on Thursday passed "a vote of no confidence" on the state Commissioner for Education, Prof. Joseph Adeniyi Olowofela following allegation that the allowances of food vendors for the home grown school feeding programme have been stopped for two weeks.

The situation was said to have forced the vendors to stay at home leaving school children hungry.

The lawmakers during their plenary on Thursday told the Commissioner that their investigations revealed that the ministry was dividing the money for the home grown feeding programme into two