The governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, has described the request made by the Federal Government stating that all states should provide 40 per cent counterpart funding for the proposed school feeding programme, as fraud.
The governor insisted that the programme, which is being proposed by the All Progressive Congress led government, must be achieved without the 40 per cent counterpart funding from all states.
He said, “The Federal Government is already looking for excuse for the impending failure of the programme by asking states to contribute 40 per cent to the scheme.”
Faye claimed the school feeding programme is solely a contract between the APC-led government and Nigerians.
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“Were the state consulted before the APC made the promise during the presidential campaign? How can you make a promise and win election on the basis of that promise and now expect states to help you fulfil the promise? That to me is fraud!”
In a statement issued yesterday, which was signed by Faye’s Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, he said that Ekiti state and other states in Nigeria deserved to reap from the programmes without being of financial assistance to the Federal Government.
“Apart form the fact that Ekiti Satte lacked the financial wherewithal to provide counterpart fund for such a programme, it is the duty of President Muhammadu Buhari and his APC that won election on the basis of their promise to give free meals to school pupils to fulfil the promise without placing any burden on other tiers of government.
“As for us in Ekiti, we are interested in the programme because Nigeria belongs to all of us. But we won’t contribute any counterpart fund because the programme is solely an electoral promise of APC and we were never consulted before the promise was made. We don’t even have the capability to make any financial contribution.”
