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Human right activist, Femi Falana SAN, has reacted to the decision by the Federal Government to continue school feeding programme as part of its social intervention scheme, despite that schools across the country have been shut due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In an interview with The Punch on Thursday, the senior advocate of Nigeria said the federal government should stop insulting the collective intelligence of the Nigerian people. ‘Are the school children being fed in their homes by the ministry of humanitarian affairs, he queried.
Falana stated: “The Federal Government should stop insulting the collective intelligence of the Nigerian people. For goodness’ sake, are the school children being fed in their homes by the ministry of humanitarian affairs?
“The statement and other similar statements credited to highly-placed public officers during this crisis have compelled the Nigerian people to demand accountability in the school feeding and cash transfer policies of the Federal Government.
“Even though Lagos State warehouses the largest number of the very poor people in the country not a single person in the state has benefited from the cash transfer programme of the Federal Government. Hence, Lagos State is conspicuously missing in the social register compiled by the Presidency.
“In his last broadcast, President Buhari announced the increase in the number of the people in the social register from 2.6 million to 3.6 million. The state and local governments must compile their own social register of poor people and liaise with the Federal Government with a view to ensuring a more effective way of distributing the palliatives.”
