By Jamiu Ganiyu
Condemnations and reservations have continued to trail the ongoing recruitment exercise of another batch of O-Meal food vendors by the Osun State Government as about 10,000 applicants have obtained forms to fill the available 2,000 vacancies.
O-Meal is a multifaceted poverty alleviation solution programme under the federal government of Nigeria termed the National Home Grown School Feeding program.
The aim of the scheme among other things is to assist vulnerable families to feed their children while providing an incentive to send them to school. Others are to deliver a government-led, cost-effective school feeding programme using food that is locally grown by small scale farmers and also to create jobs along with the value created in order to provide a multiplier effect for economic growth and development.
In its bid to expand the workforce of the school feeding programme, the Osun State Government had last month announced calls for application by interested members of the public to fill about 2,000 available vacancies of the scheme. These set of applicants, if successful, would join other thousands of food vendors who have been O-Meal vendors since the era of former Governor Rauf Aregbesola.
During a recent investigation of the ongoing recruitment by the Oyetola administration, osun.life interviewed some of the applicants who gave a deep insight and an overview of their travails.
One of the applicants who spoke under the condition of anonymity because of fear of persecution complained of unnecessary extortions in the application process. She said she has spent about 15,000 naira in the process. In her words “I obtained the form for N2500, we were asked to do a medical test which include HIV, tuberculosis, hepatitis, and others. I did that at LAUTECH hospital at 8,000 naira, obtained a certificate of local government origin from Osogbo local government at N3200 and other charges. My brother, I can’t deceive you, I was later feeling somehow when I heard over 10,000 obtained that form, I don’t know anybody except God. They shouldn’t have made the application known to the public since we all know it will be filled by politicians.” she concluded.
Another applicant who identified herself as simply, Wumi, condemned various stress associated with the process of recruitment. In her words, she said “I traveled from Iwo to Osogbo to obtain the form and secured other supporting documents, later I got information that some applicants in my area were submitting their forms to one women leader for collation and to help them submit it to one politician in Osogbo. The following day, I traced that woman leader and told her I obtained the O-Meal form too but she said my face is not familiar that I should tell my ward Leader to call her, I don’t even know what she was talking about.”
However, when our correspondent spoke with the State O-Meal Programme Officer, Mr. Bamidele Olawuyi, he said the government at a point intervened and gave an express order to shelve the issue of the medical report as part of the criteria to be considered because of a series of reports they had but he admitted that most of the applicants were not aware of it while some others who they told were fearing that it might be the used against them during the selection process.
Finally! Olawuyi said the government has decided to use the Senior School Leaving Certificate as the minimum educational qualification and that exams would be conducted across all LGA between tomorrow, Monday 13th and Wednesday 14th, 2019.