The Nigerian government has allocated N100 billion in the 2025 Appropriation Bill for the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP), reaffirming its commitment to improving public primary school students’ education and health while supporting local agriculture.
This allocation is part of the N49.74 trillion national budget, which was sourced from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation. The NHGSFP, initially launched in 2005 under President Olusegun Obasanjo, aims to provide nutritious meals to students and bolster the local farming sector by sourcing food locally.
The program seeks to increase school attendance, improve academic performance, and raise the income of local farmers. However, the initiative has been plagued by controversies and inefficiencies, particularly under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari. Problems such as the absence of food vendors, poor-quality meals, small portions, and delayed payments to vendors have threatened the sustainability of the program.
Maryam Uwais, the former Special Adviser to the President on Social Investments, revealed that the program had been suspended in several states due to reports of irregular food supply and poor-quality food. Furthermore, investigations uncovered that N2.67 billion allocated for school feeding during the COVID-19 lockdown was found in individual accounts, fueling concerns over financial mismanagement.
Despite these setbacks, the government continues to prioritize the NHGSFP in its budgetary plans, aiming to increase school enrollment by 20% and improve academic performance by 15% by 2025. Additionally, there is a target to raise local farmers’ incomes by 10%. The effectiveness of these goals, however, hinges on overcoming the logistical challenges and corruption issues that have hindered the program in the past.
The 2025 budget also highlights the procedures for virements (reallocations of funds) in case a project cannot be completed as planned. These adjustments require prior approval from the National Assembly, ensuring that public funds are managed responsibly.
A further setback came in October 2022 when the Nassarawa State government uncovered 349 “ghost schools” that were falsely listed as beneficiaries of the program. This discovery raised alarms about mismanagement and corruption within the program.
Despite these challenges, the NHGSFP remains a key tool for driving both educational and economic development in Nigeria. By providing meals to children and creating demand for locally grown food, the program continues to be a vital part of the country’s development strategy. However, its long-term success will depend on addressing the obstacles of mismanagement, inefficiency, and corruption that have undermined its potential.
