The Gender Minister has alleged that the Northern Region Chairman of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) has collected people’s monies, goats, cows and other things from people and promised them jobs with the School Feeding programme.

Otiko Afisa Djaba stated that “it is not the mandate of the regional chairman to decide who is a caterer [to the School Feeding programme]."

He comments follow an altercation she had with Mr Naabu Friday in tamale after the NPP National Women's Organiser said she went to meet women organisers of the party in the Northern region. 

She has dismissed claims by Mr Naabu that she must consult before making appointments to the School Feeding programme in the region.

“He was on the rampage that he was the one to appoint and he thought I was coming to Tamale to talk about school feeding,” she alleged.

Otiko Afisa Djaba stated she has the mandate to make appointments to the program and sees no reason why Bugri Naabu has described her meeting with the women organisers in the region as illegal. 

The national school feeding program is one of the flagship social protection programs under the Gender Ministry.

Since the coming into office of the Akufo-Addo government there has been some turbulence in the Ashanti and Northern regions with some activists preventing caterers from cooking for the school children or unilaterally abrogating their contracts.

Northern Region Chairman of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) 

Mr. Naabu who faced off with Madam Djaba disrupted a meeting Friday in Tamale in thinking it was in relation to the school feeding program appointments. The police had to be called in to restore order. 

But explaining what happened, she said she was in the region at the pleasure of the First Lady Rebecca Akufo-Addo and used the opportunity to inspire and thank the women for their contribution in the party’s election success.

Madam Djaba said she spoke to them to “let them understand that you just can’t just sack people who are engaged in school feeding because of change in government.

“When the NPP lost power in 2008, the National Democratic Congress government sacked all the caterers and they were not happy about it," she said. 

According to her, the NPP does not have to repeat the same mistakes as those currently running it have a contract, which ends in July.

She said when it ends, the way forward will be discussed by the Gender and Social Protection Ministry and not Mr Naabu as he suggested.