The Kogi State government has sacked 111 cooks for allegedly engaging in fraudulent activities during the federal government’s school feeding programme in the state.
The Kogi State Focal Person of National Social Investment Program (NSIP), Abdukareem Onyekehi Suleiman, disclosed in Lokoja at a public hearing held at the House of Assembly on a bill for a law to establishment the Kogi State Social Investment Programme Agency.
Onyekehi said the state government had engaged 3,000 cooks for the school feeding programme, adding that some cooks kept engaging in sharp practices after receiving payment from the federal government to prepare meals for pupils.
He said; “Whatever you do in a public office, it is important you ensure accountability and ensure sanctions in case of fraud.
We are coordinated. We have local government coordinators monitoring the programme and we are also working with anti-graft agencies and secret service that are part of the programme.
“We have had cases where some cooks that are supposed to be preparing meals for pupils receive money and they will not prepare the meals. We have about 3,000 cooks and we have disciplined 111 of them in recent time.
We recommended them for removal from the scheme and we have reported them to the appropriate authorities for discipline and punishment deserved. We found out that they received money and did not prepare meals for our pupils.”
