The Federal Government has developed an Information and Communication Technology (ICT)-driven system to monitor every process in the school feeding value chain.

Dr Aderemi Adebowale, National Programme Manager, National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA) disclosed this in an interview with the 9news Nigeria in Abuja on Sunday.

He said an end-to-end application has been put in place to ensure transparency and accountability in the National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP)

Adebowale was reacting to public outcry that trailed a recent announcement by Vice President Kashim Shettima

that Nigeria might require an annual budget of about N1 trillion to sustain nationwide coverage of the NHGSFP.

Shettima spoke during the National Policy Forum on the Institutionalisation and Implementation of the Renewed Hope National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme, organised by ActionAid Nigeria.

Represented by the Special Adviser to the President on Economic Affairs, Dr. Tope Fasua, the Vice President stressed that the programme should not be seen as a financial burden but as a nation-building investment with significant social, economic, and security benefits.

Many Nigerians had, however, expressed doubts over the claim, contending that past implementation of the school feeding initiative was riddled with loopholes, inflated contracts, and weak oversight.

They expressed the fear that announcing such a massive figure without providing a clear breakdown could erode public trust.

According to the critics, during the last administration of late President Muhammadu Buhari, the initiative, instead of serving its purpose, was tainted by corruption and turned into a channel for diverting money.

Reassuring the critics, Adebowale said that the ICT- driven innovation in monitoring the programme would block every loopholes for mismanagement.