Jigawa State Governor, Malam Umar Namadi, has announced the expansion of the National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme to include pupils in Primary Four, Five and Six, saying the state is the only one in Nigeria complementing the Federal Government’s implementation beyond the lower primary level.
The governor disclosed this on Tuesday while receiving members of the North-West Strategic Committee on the National Social Investment Programme, led by its Chairman, Prof. Mudassir Nasiru, during a courtesy visit to the Government House in Dutse.
According to a statement issued on Wednesday by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Hamisu Mohammed Gumel, the committee is touring North-West states to encourage greater ownership and effective implementation of the National Social Investment Programme.
Namadi described the National Social Investment Programme as one of the Federal Government’s most impactful social protection initiatives, noting that its various components, including the Cash Transfer Programme and the National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme, have continued to improve the livelihoods of vulnerable households across the country.
“The National Social Investment Programme is one of the most important programmes that touches the lives of vulnerable people, and I believe it is an important programme that needs to be sustained,” the governor said.
He explained that while the Federal Government currently provides school meals for pupils in Primary One to Three, the Jigawa State Government had extended the programme to cover pupils in Primary Four, Five and Six to ensure more children benefit.
“If you recall, while the Federal Government is implementing the programme for Primary One, Two and Three pupils, the Jigawa State Government is implementing it for Primary Four, Five and Six pupils. I believe we are the only state in this country that has complemented the programme in this way,” Namadi said.
The governor said the expanded school feeding programme had improved school enrolment, attendance and retention while creating economic opportunities for local farmers, food vendors and other actors in the agricultural value chain.
He reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to supporting programmes that improve the welfare of vulnerable residents, adding that the initiative aligns with the state’s 12-Point Agenda and President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
“Improving the lives of vulnerable people is one of the cardinal principles of this administration. Therefore, whatever comes as part of the Renewed Hope Agenda, the Jigawa State Government is ready to key into it,” he added.
Earlier, the Chairman of the North-West Strategic Committee on the National Social Investment Programme, Prof. Mudassir Nasiru, said the committee was established to encourage states to take ownership of the programme and strengthen collaboration with the Federal Government.
He noted that the National Social Investment Programme, initiated under former President Muhammadu Buhari and now coordinated by the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, remains a critical intervention for reducing poverty and improving the welfare of vulnerable households.
West Trybe reports that the National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme is designed to improve school enrolment, nutrition and learning outcomes among primary school pupils while supporting local agricultural production through the procurement of food from local farmers.
