Niger to re-introduce school feeding programme

From John Adams, Minna

Niger State Government is to reintroduce school feeding programme to primary schools in a bid to enhance the nutritional value of children in the state.

Speaker of the House of Assembly,  Abdulmalik Sarkindaji disclosed this, yesterday, in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State , when he declared open a two-day retreat for legislators and executives from Lagos, Niger, Kano, Kaduna and Nasarawa states.

He said what children eat determined their level of intelligent and productive capacity and that as two term council chairman, he had introduced school feeding programme in primary schools in his local government even before the introduction of the national school feeding programme.

He said the government in the state decided to prioritise nutrition for children because of the realisation that nutrition is key to the development of any nation.

He said the state government was only waiting for the technical reports on the blueprint for the commencement of the programme.

The retreat with the theme – “Improving nutrition funding, the role of legislators and executives” – is organised by a civil society, Scaling up Nutrition in Nigeria.

The organisers said the retreat targets extracting commitment from the executives and legislators on funding of nutrition food amongst children in  to enhance their healthy growth.

Sarkindaji who commended the organisers of the retreat for a well thought out theme for the retreat “improving Nutritional Funding, the role of Legislators and Executives”, maintained that “the retreat will afford us, individually and collectively, the opportunity to think deeply and help our government put their resources where it will be for the outmost benefit to the people”.   

A communiqué is expected from the retreat which ends tomorrow.