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Reps, HoA, FG Resolve To End Malnutrition In Nigeria

Published

4 months ago

July 22, 2024

Gloria Ikibah

…as Speaker Abbas express concern over growing food insecurity

By Gloria Ikibah

As a way to ending malnutrition and food insecurity in the country, the House of Representatives has inaugurated the National Legislative Network on Nutrition and Food Security.

The network which comprises the House, 27 States Houses of Assembly ministers also resolved to end malnutrition and food insecurity in the country through adequate collaboration.

In his address Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, who was represented by the Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, raised concerns over growing food insecurity in the country.

He said there was the need to reinforce the urgent need to address the issue of nutrition and food security as the representatives of the people.

He therefore promised to initiate a strategic legislative process to tackle malnutrition and food security, adding that this is not the best time for the citizenry.

He said: “We are taking concrete steps to restore hope to the suffering masses that will guarantee the enhancement of their well-being.

“We need the involvement of the state assembly to attain nutrition and food security, and this move is in the right direction to achieve a greater result.

“We shared the people’s pains, discomfort, suffering, and depression following the worrisome cost of food items and the decline in nutrition”.

According to Speaker Abbas, the presence of the ministers shows the commitment of the President to address food security in the country, even as he urged Nigerians to give the Executive the needed support.

Chairman, House Committee on Nutrition and Food Security, Rep. Chike Okafor, in his welcome address noted that malnutrition and food insecurity remained a constant threat to socio-economic development in Nigeria.

He added that this had become an existential threat, and that “worsening inflation has also aggravated this burden on ordinary Nigerians, and the food insecurity situation in Nigeria has worsened.

“There is, however, cause for optimism; the optimism we share stems from the fact that, for the first time, attempts to tackle malnutrition and food insecurity will have a legislative push.

“This legislative perspective will be driven collectively and holistically, anchored on the joint effort of the committees at the National and State Houses of Assembly”.

He added that this would be driven by a joint work plan with flexibility for the incorporation of state-specific exigencies.

The Speaker of Oyo State House of Assembly and Chairman Conference of Speakers, State Legislators, Hon. Debo Ogundoyin, said the wellbeing of the citizenry in the area of food security and nutrition had taken center stage.

Hon. Ogundoyin said that it was imperative to carry the state along because it would provide the requisite understanding to tackle the issue.

He therefore expressed the commitment of the state’s assemblies to work toward a common goal: eradicating malnutrition and food insecurity.

According to him, Nigeria is one of the deprived countries in Africa when it comes to nourishment for our children.

The Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate, said that there was a need to come together to deal with the issue of malnutrition, adding that they remained the pillars of President Bola Tinubu’s renewed hope agenda.

According to Prof. Pate, the country had struggled with acute malnutrition, and there was a need to deal with it and the issue of over- and undernutrition.

“We have diabetes and hypertension because of the processed food we eat. It is not just the calories, but the diversity of the diet, which is very important.

“The issues of malnutrition affect the performance of a child in school and their productivity, the child’s survival depends on nutrition”, he stated.

Thee Minister of Budget and National Planning, Abubakar Baguda, noted that nutrition and food security challenges are constitutional, and that the three tiers of government must invest more in them.

He explained that this involved giving each of the three tiers of government apride of place in what they could do to address the menace.

“Nutrition is a localized issue; there are differences from one community to the next. We need to localize challenges. The resource constraints are one of the challenges of nutrition and food security.”

He, however, said that Nigeria could find resources to fund its priorities, adding that “Nigeria has been underinvesting, and we are determined to change policies.”

The Minister of Agriculture, Abubakar Kyari, said, “We need to identify strategies to prevent and alleviate the suffering of our people. Manultrition is a major issue in Nigeria, affecting most children.”

He listed banditry, kidnapping, and policy frame work, among others, as some of the factors responsible for the manultrition and food crisis in the country.

“We are collaborating with ministries and other agencies to ensure food and nutrition security. We want to create awareness and collaboration among the three arms of government.

This, according to him, includes development partners to effectively address the manpower and food crises in Nigeria. No family should be denied their basic right to food and nutrition.

News

PHOTO: Courtesy visit to Priesthood Orphanage by Just Friends Club of Nigeria Founder

Published

12 minutes ago

November 25, 2024

Naijablitznews

Dr. (Mrs) Blessing Echenwo, left, founder of Priesthood Orphanage, Karamajiji, Abuja and Mrs. Maria Cardillo, a member of Just Friends Club of Nigeria, during the visit of the club to the orphanage in Abuja…recently

News

Just in: NYSC Releases Batch ‘C’ Corps Members Call Up Letters

Published

2 hours ago

November 25, 2024

Naijablitznews

The National Youth Service Corps has announced the release of the 2024 Batch ‘C’ Stream I call-up letters for prospective corps members.

The corps made the announcement in a series of post on its official X (former Twitter) handle on Monday.

It said orientation camp for the stream is expected to start on November 27, 2024 and closes on December 17, 2024.

According to the post, “some prospective corp members posted to Lagos will have orientation in Ogun and Osun.

“While some of those posted to Zamfara will have in Kebbi and Sokoto etc”

The corps, however, advised prospective corps members to print and sign an addendum, which will be submitted during registration at the orientation camp.

Tips to guide Deployed Prospective Corps Members

Do not travel to the Orientation Camps at night. Break your journey when necessary.
Report on your scheduled reporting date.
Apply for spelling error and name rearrangement on your dashboard.
After documentation in the Camp, you cannot change your Date of Birth, Date of Graduation, Course of Study and Passport Photograph.
Do not report to the Camp if there is any discrepancies in your course of study or with the Date of Graduation on your Statement of Result and your Call-up Letter. Contact your Institution to sort it out.
ATTENTION TO ALL 2024 BATCH ”C” STREAM I MARRIED FEMALE PROSPECTIVE CORPS MEMBERS

All married female Prospective Corps members (PCMs) who are deployed to States where their husbands are not domiciled should report to the nearest NYSC Orientation Camp for their State of Deployment to be changed.

They are to report during the period of Registration at the Orientation Camps with the copies of their marital and other relevant documents as evidence. Once the change is made it will reflect on theirM dashboard for reprinting.

News

Oba of Benin to withdraw suit as Okpebholo restores rights

Published

7 hours ago

November 25, 2024

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

The Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare II, and the Benin Traditional Council may withdraw the suits they filed against the state government as Governor Monday Okpebholo, on Sunday, restored the full statutory rights of the Oba and reversed the policies of the previous administration that impacted the Benin Traditional Council.

A statement on Sunday by Okepebholo’s Chief Press Secretary, Fred Itua, said the governor abolished the new traditional councils in Edo South created by the immediate-past governor, Godwin Obaseki.

Okpebholo also backed the Federal Government’s recognition of the Oba’s palace as the custodian of repatriated Benin artefacts looted during the 1897 British colonial expedition.

Providing an insight into the governor’s gesture, the state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Dr Samson Osagie, said it signaled the resolution of the crisis between the Oba of Benin and the Edo State government leading to lawsuits duringt the Obaseki’s administration.

Osagies said, “The cases in court are cases which the Oba of Benin himself and the Benin Traditional Council instituted against the state government, and they are all civil matters. And you know that in civil suit or in any suit, parties are encouraged to settle amicably.

“So, if the parties are already settling and one side is already meeting the condition of settlement, the next step you are going to hear is that the party who went to court, which is the Oba of Benin, and the Benin Traditional Council, will instruct their counsel to withdraw the cases from court and that will be the end of the matter.

“The two parties are now settling for harmony and peace to reign, so the government is doing its own side of it.

“This statement is a prelude to discontinuing all legal proceedings with respect to the twin issues of the concession of the Oba Akenzua Cultural Centre by government to the Benin Traditional Council for 30 years and the creation of additional councils.”

The statement by Okepebholo’s Chief Press Secretary outlined the administration’s commitment to restoring the dignity and authority of the Benin monarch.

“This administration also hereby abolishes the new traditional councils in Edo South, created by the last administration,” the statement noted.

Additionally, Governor Okpebhol revoked the decision of the Obaseki’s administration to convert the Oba Akenzua II Cultural Centre into a motor park.

The government announced plans to restore the cultural centre to its original purpose.

“This administration is restoring the Oba Akenzua Centre to a suitable condition for its original purpose,” the statement added.

The governor also reinstated the financial entitlements of the Benin Traditional Council, ordering that the status quo before the creation of the abolished councils be maintained.

According to the statement, Okpebholo affirmed support for the Federal Government’s official gazette, which recognizes the Oba of Benin as the rightful owner and custodian of the repatriated Benin artefacts.

He also distanced his administration from the Museum of West Africa Art, instead backing the Benin Royal Museum project to house the artefacts.

“The Federal Government has also issued a gazette for the recognition of ownership and custody of the repatriated Benin artefacts to the Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare II,” the statement explained. “Governor Okpebholo respects the rights and privileges of the traditional ruler of Benin kingdom… and pledges the support of his administration to ensure the monarch plays his role as the custodian of the rich cultural heritage of the Benin people.”

Okpebholo reiterated his administration’s respect for traditional institutions and vowed to avoid interference in the internal affairs of the Benin Traditional Council. “The Oba of Benin, as the father of all Benin people, is the sole custodian of the customs and traditions of the Benin people, and my administration respects customs and traditions in the land,” he stated, emphasising the government’s efforts to uphold the cultural and historical integrity of the Benin Kingdom.