Jigawa suspends school feeding contractors
The Jigawa State Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Special Duties has suspended and dismissed several school feeding contractors over alleged fraud, inflated student enrolment figures and the supply of poor quality food in some boarding schools in Dutse LGA. It was gathered that the action followed surprise inspections conducted on Wednesday, January 7, by ministry […]
The Jigawa State Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Special Duties has suspended and dismissed several school feeding contractors over alleged fraud, inflated student enrolment figures and the supply of poor quality food in some boarding schools in Dutse LGA.
It was gathered that the action followed surprise inspections conducted on Wednesday, January 7, by ministry officials under the supervision of the Commissioner, Hon. Auwal D. Sankara, to assess compliance and protect students’ welfare.
At the Girls Model Boarding School, Kudai, the inspectors discovered a wide gap between the declared student population of 1,008 and the actual headcount of 681.
The contractor, Jibrin Maifata, was immediately suspended after the meals served were found to be unfit for consumption.
At the Government Commercial Secondary School, Dutse, officials rejected a supply of low-quality rice, while the Chairman of the School Feeding Contractors, Alhaji Sule Zai, was dismissed over the lapses recorded during the exercise.
Similarly, three contractors at the School for Arabic and Islamic Studies, Dutse, Kamalu Sulaiman, Alhaji Abdullahi Abanderi and Alhaji Umaru Chamo, were suspended for supplying incomplete food items.
However, compliance was recorded at the School for the Visually Impaired, Limawa, where the student figure matched the headcount and the contractor was retained but warned to improve meals’ quality.
Speaking on the development, Hon. Sankara reaffirmed the state government’s zero-tolerance stance on corruption, stressing that the administration of Governor Umar Namadi Danmodi would continue routine and surprise inspections to ensure transparency and quality service delivery.