APC urges Adeleke to stop school feeding programme over alleged poisoning

The Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has ordered a full investigation into the alleged food poisoning at a primary school in the state.

18 pupils of St. James Primary School in Osogbo became ill after eating their free O-Meal diet on Monday and were rushed to an undisclosed hospital where they were all treated and later discharged.

The state’s Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Mr. Kolapo Alimi, disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday in Osogbo.

The commissioner said the affected cooks in the school and the programme planning officer were summoned to a meeting on Tuesday.

Alimi said: “The governor has directed enforcement of food standards as well as the auditing of O-Meal structure to prevent future occurrence.

“The state government has settled all medical bills of affected students after they were discharged from hospital.”

READ ALSO: Osun govt. investigates cooks, planning officers over ‘poisoned’ free meal, as 18 pupils land in hospital

Meanwhile, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State on Tuesday, urged Governor Ademola Adeleke to stop the free school feeding programme recently initiated by his administration in the state.

This followed the recent incident of alleged food poisoning involving 18 primary school pupils of St. James Primary School in Osogbo.

The pupils became ill after eating their free O-Meal diet on Monday and were rushed to an undisclosed hospital where they were all treated and later discharged.

However, the APC Chairman, Mr Sooko Lawal, in a statement issued on Tuesday in Osogbo by the party’s Director of Media and Information, Kola Olabisi, said the incident was another evidence of lackadaisical leadership in the state.

The statement read: “The humanity in me became uncomfortable when one of the victims’ mother gave an account of her child coming back from school with an offensive odour similar to a rotten egg.

“If these allegations are true, then Gov. Adeleke must have a clear conversation with his creator. How would the food vendors be dedicated when they are paid peanuts and are not supplied with the right food supplies?”