Osun state logo
Food poisoning report in Osun is exaggerated – FG delegate. Yetunde Adeniji, Senior Special Assistant to the President on School Feeding, led a Federal Government delegation to Osun State following the food poisoning incident that affected 18 students at St. James Primary School in Osogbo.
According to a statement distributed by her media team on Thursday, Adeniji’s visit was a fact-finding mission to acquire an update on the alleged food poisoning on December 12 under the state government’s Home Grown School Feeding (O-MEALS) program.
The visit came just one week after the state government launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the mid-day meal supplied to students as part of the Osun free school food program.
Governor Ademola Adeleke immediately ordered a halt to food preparation at the affected school pending the outcome of the investigations.
The FG team, which was greeted by the state governor and his deputy, Kola Adewusi, revealed that during their visit to the affected school, they discovered that the alleged occurrence was greatly exaggerated.
While reiterating President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to the well-being of children in public schools, the presidential aide emphasized that the president remains committed to school feeding programs as part of his eight-point agenda and will not leave any state unattended to in order to feed 10 million children across the country.
She also warned, “The meals served in schools must be of very high standards. We urged schools to remain vigilant against sharp practices as relates to the quality and hygiene of the meals served.
“The FG will establish a monitoring and evaluation unit to ensure the country’s continued commitment to the safety and success of school feeding programs.” In the next days, her office will guarantee that government laws are strictly enforced across the federation in order to standardize school feeding programs across Nigeria, among other far-reaching reforms.”
Osun deputy governor, who agreed with her, remarked that the situation had been greatly exaggerated.
“On Monday, December 12th, 2023, there was a clear case of misinformation.” “Unfortunately, such occurrences are not uncommon in any level of governance,” he remarked.
Similarly, the school’s Headmistress, Adenike Olutola, stated that the matter was allegedly contrived.