The Jigawa State Government has removed and placed sanctions on several school feeding contractors over allegations of fraud, poor-quality food supplies, and falsification of student numbers in some boarding schools across the state.
The decision came after complaints from parents and the general public, alongside surprise inspections conducted by officials of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Special Duties in schools within Dutse Local Government Area.
Addressing journalists on Thursday, the Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs and Special Duties, Auwalu Sankara, explained that the actions were aimed at cleaning up the school feeding programme and safeguarding the wellbeing of pupils.
“The inspections were meant to check the reality on the ground and ensure that our children are not being shortchanged,” he said.
Sankara revealed that at the Girls Model Boarding School, Kudai, Dutse metropolitan, “the monitoring team discovered a discrepancy of over 30% between reported student numbers and physical headcount, with only 681 students found instead of the reported 1,008.”
According to him, the soup served to students in the school was also found to be unfit for consumption, leading to the suspension of contractor Jibrin Maifata.
He added that at Government Commercial Secondary School, Dutse, the team rejected a supply of low-grade rice and subsequently terminated the contract of Alhaji Sule Zai, who also serves as 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 and Islamic Studies, Dutse.”
However, Sankara noted that at the School for the Visually Impaired, Limawa, the student headcount matched records, and the contractor, Adamu Khalid, was retained for satisfactory performance.
“While we are cracking down on errant contractors, we also acknowledge and appreciate those who are doing their job honestly,” Sankara said.
He warned that the state government would not tolerate any compromise in student welfare, stressing that anyone found diverting resources would face the law.
