Osun State Government has said that pupils of St. James Primary School, Owo-Ope, Osogbo were not poisoned under the Osun Home Grown School Feeding Programme, O’Meals.
The government made this known on Wednesday, in a statement issued by Special Adviser to the Governor on O-Meal, Hon. Ayodele Oluwaseyi, while announcing the results of its investigation into the alleged food poisoning.
She maintained that the pupils were not poisoned from a meal served by a vendor of the programme.
According to the government, the videos and fake news stories were the handiwork of political opponents who were out to tarnish the image of the State Government.
Oluwaseyi said that findings of the government investigation also showed the inconsistency in the testimonies of some of the parents as well as the shady circumstances between the morning feeding and the alleged food poisoning late at night.
The statement reads: “The report highlighted also the involvement of an opposition operative who stayed around the school and who videoed and distributed the arranged video with many in the video denying stories of food poisoning.
“The government has subsequently invited the security agencies to investigate the matter with a view to bring those behind the fake drama and video to book.”
Oluwaseyi, while casting doubt on the circumstances surrounding the alleged poisoning, as it appears peculiar that affected pupils originate from the same street and were transported to the same hospital by their parents simultaneously and were video recorded concurrently, narrated the outcome of the on-the-spot investigation conducted for several hours today by top officials, parents and school officials.
She stated that the State Government has carried out fresh tests on the alleged pupils and the results were returned as negative to food poisoning.
“The clinical tests conducted at the teaching hospital confirmed no traces of food poisoning and the affected vendors have been discharged accordingly,” the governor’s aide declared.
The Special Adviser stressed that the pupils who were allegedly poisoned have since returned to school to continue their examinations.
“The reported food poisoning should not be associated with the mid-day meal given to the pupils by the O’Meals food vendors.
“The whole allegation was discovered to be politically initiated by some miscreants who intended to score cheap political goal.
“It will interest the public to know that the students who were said to have been poisoned have since returned to school to continue their examinations. They were fed in the morning, and they showed no sign of illness throughout the day,” she said.
She added that women recruited into the O’Meal programme as food vendors are certified cooks who prepare their meals under the most hygienic environment.
Eighteen pupils of St James’s Primary School ‘B’, Owoope, Osogbo, were reportedly hospitalised following the consumption of a mid-day meal served to them under the free school feeding programme of the state government.
It was gathered that the pupils started stooling and vomiting on getting home after school hours on Monday and were taken to different hospitals for care by their parents who lamented that the mid-day meal taken earlier at school was responsible for their children’s ailments.
Some of the pupils were seen in a viral video being attended to by health workers in the hospitals they were admitted to, some on drips while others were being attended to.
Meanwhile, the state government has directed a comprehensive investigation into the unfortunate incident with a view of bringing those culpable to book and forestall future occurrence.
A statement by the state Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi in Osogbo on Tuesday, said the governor, Ademola Adeleke directed immediate action when the matter was reported to him.
According to the statement the victims have been treated and discharged from hospitals, while the government has decided to foot the bills for the treatment of the victims.
The statement read in part:, “Osun State Government has ordered full investigations into the reported cases of food poisoning at St James primary School B, Owoope Osogbo
“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.
