By Ken Afor
Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has suspended further cooking of food at the St. James Primary School B, Owo-Ope, Osogbo, the state capital after 18 pupils served with the state’s free meal were reportedly hospitalized.
Details revealed that the pupils were admitted at various hospitals after consuming meals that were prepared as part of the free school feeding initiative by the Osun state government.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, announced that Governor Adeleke has instructed an investigation into the allegations of food poisoning.
He, however, stated that the victims had received medical care and were subsequently discharged from the hospitals.
“Osun State Government has ordered full investigations into the reported cases of food poisoning at St James primary School B, Owoope Osogbo,” the statement reads.
“The State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke, directed immediate action when the matter was reported to him by the Special Adviser on O-Meal, Mrs. Grace Ayodele.
“The Governor has subsequently directed the stoppage of further food cooking at the affected school pending the outcome of the investigations,” the statement read.
The commissioner stated that the cooks were called to attend a meeting at the government house, along with the planning officer for the O-Meal programme.
“Additionally, the governor has directed enforcement of food standards and control as well as the auditing of the O-Meal structure to forestall future occurrences.
“Meanwhile, the government is settling the medical bills of the affected students as narrated by the Chairman of the Local Government Education Authority, Mr Nathaniel Ojetola.
“The LGEA Chairman who was at the forefront of the intervention efforts disclosed that a total number of 18 students were treated and discharged.
“The total student population of the school is 200 while 103 are within the population receiving food from the O-Meal Programme. A government delegation is also visiting families of the affected students.”
