On Tuesday, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun advised Governor Ademola Adeleke to halt the free school feeding programme recently initiated by his administration.

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

Eighteen pupils allegedly 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.

Reacting to the reported incident, the APC chairman, Sooko Lawal, said in a statement on Tuesday in Osogbo that the episode was another index of lackadaisical leadership in the state.

The statement by the party’s spokesperson, Kola Olabisi, quoted Mr Lawal as describing the incident as an embarrassment to the citizenry and a gauge of the unpreparedness of the “handlers.”

”The humanity in me became uncomfortable when one of the victim’s mothers 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 Mr 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? ” Mr Lawal said.

He said stakeholders should rise to condemn the laissez-faire approach to governance, which was partly manifested in the suspected poisoning of 18 primary school pupils.

Meanwhile, the Osun government has ordered a full investigation into the alleged food poisoning at St. James Primary School (B), Owoope, in Osogbo.

This is contained in a statement by the state’s Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, and made available to journalists in Osogbo.

Also, the chairman of the Local Government Education Authority, Nathaniel Ojetola, said 18 students were treated and discharged.

”The total student population of the school is 200, while only 103 were within the population receiving food from the O-Meal programme.

”Also, a government delegation is visiting the families of the affected students,” the statement said.

(NAN)