The Kano state government said it was spending N70 million, weekly, to feed public primary school pupils in the state.
The acting governor of the state, Hafiz Abubakar, said the expenditure is aside N68 million the government spends weekly on boarding schools. He made the disclosure when he received the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sunusi II, on the emir’s traditional Sallah homage to Government House, Kano.
Hafiz noted that the feeding programme was an arrangement involving the state, local governments and host communities.
The acting governor, however, lamented that the local governments and host communities were not always coming up with their parts of the contributions.
Hafiz said the state government had even been releasing about N700million every month to the local governments to ensure they pay their workers’ salaries and meet running cost.
He further disclosed that the state also “pays N300million as scholarship to students studying in Nigeria and abroad”.
The acting governor said the state government was planning to recruit 1000 officers to compliment house to house enforcement of sanitation in communities around the state.
He also revealed that the state was poised to complete an independent power project this year.
Hafiz said despite its numerous commitments, Kano remained one of the few states in the country not defaulting in salary payment.
In his remarks, the emir urged government at federal and state levels to seek advice from economic experts on way out of the current economic hardship in the country.
He said the economic problem was surmountable if government followed experts’ advice and urged Nigerians to support and pray for their leaders to enable them deliver on their promises.
