From Abdullahi Idris, Dutse
Jigawa State governor, Umar Namadi has pledged full support, as the federal government prepares to relaunch the National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme.
The governor gave the assurance when he received the Senior Special Assistant to the President on School Feeding, Dr Yetunde Adeniji and officials of Abdullahi Mahmood Foundation, AMF, on a courtesy call at the Government House, Dutse.
Describing the initiative as critical to the Renewed Hope Agenda, Governor Namadi said the programme has far-reaching benefits beyond the classroom.
He noted that Jigawa had always gone beyond the national benchmark in supporting school feeding.
“While the federal programme covered primary one to three, Jigawa State extended it to primary four to six. We have already included school feeding in our 2025 budget and we will make provision for it in the 2026 budget. I want to assure the senior special assistant that Jigawa is ready to work closely with the federal government to revive this important programme.
“We are proud of this contribution and we will continue to support and encourage such efforts. This initiative requires a lot of sensitisation and I believe more philanthropists will join once they see the impact,” he said.
Earlier in her remarks, Dr Adeniji commended the governor’s passion for education and expressed confidence that Jigawa will be among the first states to benefit once the programme restarts.
She also highlighted new measures to reach vulnerable children in Internally Displaced Persons, IDP, camps, poor households and Almajiri schools through partnership with private organisations.
The Abdullahi Mahmood Foundation announced plans to flag off its 2025/2026 school feeding and uniform distribution programme in Malam Madori and Kaugama Local Government Areas.
The initiative, undertaken in partnership with the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President, aims to reach about 200 schools and cover at least 30 percent of enrolled pupils in the first phase.
