At least N450 million is injected into the Abia State economy monthly through the school feeding programme.
It was also gathered that all pupils in public primary schools in the state benefit from the free school feeding jointly bankrolled by the State and Federal Government.
Special Adviser to the Governor on Social Investment, Mr Chinenye Nwaogu, who disclosed this weekend during the distribution of N20,000 cash to Abia rural women by the Federal Government, said the school feeding programme had been a huge success in the state.
According to Nwaogu, the investment is directly through mostly rural women in the supply chain, adding that the impact on the state economy is amazing.
“Our flagship, the school feeding covering all the public primary schools in the state is feeding primaries 1 to 6, and injects over 450 million monthly into the economy of the state directly into the hands of our women mostly in the rural areas.
“The socioeconomic effects and impacts of these initiatives are better imagined. “In Abia millions of lives have been touched in a very sustainable way. Nwaogu who lauded the federal government for its Social Investment Programme initiative said that Abia State had benefited immensely from the various packages.
“Our other Social Investment programmes have had a tremendous impact on the lives of our people. “Under the N-power programme, over 20,000 beneficiaries received a salary of 30,000 naira monthly for over three years.
“Today, we have paid well over N600 million to beneficiaries of the conditional cash transfer programmes. “Our GEEP record remains one of the best where over 30,000 beneficiaries received about N3 billion.”
Nwogu commended President Buhari “for his passionate commitment to support those at the lowest rung of the socio-economic ladder.” He noted that President Muhammadu Buhari, and Governor Okezie Ikpeazu shared a lot in common on social inclusion and enhanced welfare for the citizenry.
