Uproar Over Irregularities In N4.8 Billion Free Ramadan Feedings As Jigawa Government Warns Against Malpractices 

By Mohammed Abubakar Dutse

Amidst growing public discontent of the ongoing Ramadan free feeding exercise in Jigawa state, the state government in an apparent admission, has expressed grave concerns in the exercise.

The over N4.8 billion state government free Ramadan feeding exercise, which kicked off on March 1, has already run into stormy waters in about 10 local government areas of the state, following complaints of alleged mishandling of the exercise by some officials of the exercise.

The Commissioner for Special Duties, Auwalu Danladi Sankara, whose ministry is overseeing the programne has expressed the government worries in a post vie his official Facebook titled “Warning on the irregularities in the Jigawa State government Ramadan Feedings”.

According to the Sankara, irregularities and malpractice had been discovered in nine local government area where inadequate government approved number and quantity of package was not provided in some centers designed to feeds over 300 people everyday.

The commissioner said “we received a reports from some Ramadan feedings centers by the Jigawa state government designed to to gives free fasting breakfast that the food agents were not able to provides less of an agreed package of meals between the agent and the government”.

He said the affected local government areas includes Garki, Gumel, Guri, Gwiwa and Hadejia, Jahun, Malam Madori, Roni, and Dutse local government areas.

“In my position as commissioner of special duties who is responsible to supervise the implementation of this programme, I’m strongly warning all agent, local supervisors and the stakeholders that this would be the last warning any among the agents found with any sort of malpractice of inability to complete the package or shorting the number of beneficiaries would be dealt accordingly”.

Sankara added that “we will not tolerate any form of cheating or malpractice by any contractor, vendor or agent in these exercise he/she would deal in respective of his/her status. We employed the services hidden supervisors to supervise the exercise state wide and reports to the government.’

He called on all people involved in the programme to be sincere and just in their respective responsibilities in order to achieve the desired objectives of the program in this special time.

It would be recalled that the State Executive Council presided over by Governor Umar Namadi had at its sitting in January approved and for release of over N4.8 billion for Ramadan feedings across 287 political wards in the 27 local government areas of the state.

Namadi had directed all the 27 local government area food contractors, 287 suppliers and 574 vendors were commissioners, Special Advisers and Assistants to the Governor and ruling party (APC) stalwarts to ensure a hitch-free handling the jobs in their respective localities.