Jigawa State government, through its Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Special Duties, has announced the dismissal and suspension of several food contractors over alleged fraud and substandard quality across some boarding schools in the state.
The PUNCH gathered that the measures were taken to restore integrity to the state’s school feeding programme.
This came following a series of complaints from concerned citizens over the allegedly compromised nature and quality of foodstuff supplies, coupled with alleged inflation of the number of beneficiary students in some schools in the state.
Speaking with journalists on Thursday, the Jigawa State Commissioner of Humanitarian Affairs and Special Duties, Auwalu Sankara, stated that “the action follows a series of complaints and unannounced ‘sting’ inspections across boarding schools in Dutse Local Government Area, aimed at auditing the integrity of the State School Feeding Programme.”
The Commissioner explained that the inspections were designed to ensure that student welfare is not being compromised for private gain.
“The inspections were meant to check the reality on the ground and ensure that our children are not being shortchanged,” he said.
While highlighting more, the Sankara revealed that
“At Girls Model Boarding School, Kudai, Dutse metropolitan, the monitoring team discovered a discrepancy of over 30 per cent between reported student numbers and physical headcount, with only 681 students found instead of the reported 1,008.”
According to the Commissioner, the soup provided to students was also found to be unfit for human consumption, leading to the immediate suspension of contractor Jibrin Maifata.
Furthermore, Sankara stated that, “At Government Commercial Secondary School, Dutse, the team rejected a supply of low-grade rice, prompting to the sacking of Alhaji Sule Zai, Chairman of the Contractors.”
In another development, the commissioner disclosed that “three contractors – Kamalu Sulaiman, Alhaji Abdullahi Abanderi, and Alhaji Umaru Chamo – were suspended for delivering incomplete supplies to the School for Arabic & Islamic Studies, Dutse.”
However, the ministry noted a positive instance at the School for the Visually Impaired, Limawa, where the headcount was accurate, and contractor Adamu Khalid was retained.
“While we are cracking down on errant contractors, we also acknowledge and appreciate those who are doing their job honestly,” Sankara said.
He emphasised that the present administration in the State remained committed to Governor Danmodi’s 12-point agenda, asserting that “any individual found diverting resources meant for the nutrition and education of children will face the full weight of the law.”
Moreover, the Sankara warned that the government will not tolerate any compromise on the welfare of students, and those found guilty will be dealt with accordingly.
Efforts put in place by our correspondent to speak to the affected contractors and school heads were not successful, as they declined to comment on the issue when approached.
However, our correspondent reports that stakeholders praised the development as pointing to the government’s commitment to transparency and accountability.
They demanded that the suspended contractors be asked to refund any monies paid for services not rendered, and ensure that new contractors are immediately appointed to take over the feeding programme.
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