Umar-Farouq Clarifies ‘N2.67bn School Feeding Fraud’ Not Linked To Humanitarian Affairs Ministry

Sadiya Umar-Farouq, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, has clarified that the alleged N2.67bn school feeding fraud uncovered by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) is not linked to her ministry.

The ICPC Monday disclosed that N2.67 billion paid to some federal colleges for school feeding during the COVID-19 lockdown ended up in private bank accounts.

But in a statement issued on her behalf by Nneka Ikem Anibeze, Special Assistant to the Minister on Media and Publicity, Umar-Farouq said the school feeding in question is different from the home grown school feeding programme which is one of the humanitarian ministry’s social investment programmes (SIP).

“The Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development hereby informs the public that the Federal Government Colleges school feeding in question is different from the Home Grown School Feeding which is one of its Social Investment Programmes,” said Anibeze in the statement.

“That the School Feeding under scrutiny is feeding of students in Federal Government Colleges across the country and is not under the Federal ministry of Humanitarian Affairs which only oversees Home Grown School Feeding for children in Primaries 1-3 in select public schools across the country.

“That the over N2.5 billion which was reportedly misappropriated by a senior civil servant (name withheld) took place in a different ministry and not the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development.

“The Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development calls on The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC to publish the names of persons, federal colleges and school heads whose names have been found to be associated with the missing funds and also freeze the accounts where the said funds were diverted. 

“The Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs therefore calls on the general public to disregard the false reports being linked to the ministry as it is not in anyway involved in the Federal Government Colleges School Feeding.”