Lawmakers at a two-day strategic policy discourse on nutrition have commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the new Nigerian Act Administration at 2025, which introduces a unified procedural framework for assessment, collection, enforcement and administration of taxes across all levels of government, describing it as a welcome development.
Put together by the Civil Society Scaling Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN), the meeting brought together legislators, government officials, Civil Society groups and technical partners to assess the level of state action on nutrition policies.
Chairman, Committee on Nutrition and Food Security, House of Representatives, Deacon Chike Okafor, argued that it would be difficult to continue to impose multiple levies on long articulated vehicles carrying food from one part of Nigeria to another and expect food inflation to reduce.
Okafor noted that what Nigerians need now is proper sensitisation on the benefits of the tax law, which in the next couple of months would be reflected in food security and the Nigerian economy as a whole.
"We cannot continue to allow LGAs to invest in nutrition and food security outside the existing national guidelines and framework without recourse to legislative oversight at State and LG levels". Okafor
He stressed further, "We cannot continue to fold our hands as our harvested food products root away due to poor market access or lack of Access to farmlands due to local insecurity, adding that, in the days ahead "we promised to deepen the collaborative efforts for the betterment of our country and help to actualize the renewed hope agenda of Mr President.
According to him, Nutrition is key to health, economic growth and development, as the cost of inaction in terms of Nigeria's economy is estimated at about 12.2% to this end, Equity cannot be guaranteed in the face of widespread malnutrition, stressing that working together will improve nutrition outcomes in Nigeria.
Participating states are, Benue, Enugu, Bayelsa, Jigawa, Sokoto, Gombe, Adamawa, Katsina, Zamfara, and Yobe.
Honourable Tolulope Ige, the Majority Leader Ekiti State House of Assembly and the National Chairman for the Forums of Chairpersons of Committees on Nutrition and Food Security of State Houses of Assembly in the 36 States of the federation and Abuja said the committees will be institutionalizing all nutrition programmes into a common front which is the reason for the proposal Zero Drag Bill which of the vision and Food Security Bill 2025.
"There is also the plan to institutionalize the N 774 lead by the office of the Vice President in all the LG because we are taking nutrition to the local so that there is accountability, transparency and ownership because we see malnourished and breastfeeding mother and these are things that happen in our locality and that is why the drive is to bring attention to them from policy to plates of our constituents in our different homes".he said
Mr Ige stated that the major change has been advocacy, because the people need to know that malnutrition is a problem, as Nigeria is losing a lot as a country, talking about $56 56billion, which is a huge loss.
He advised that owning it should be intentional if malnutrition must be eradicated, appealing that it has been done in Egypt and Rwanda, and they achieved it. " So if there are precedents in other African countries, Nigeria can achieve it.
Speaking at the forum, Okoronkwo Sunday, Executive Secretary of CS-SUNN, said nutrition must be treated as a matter of public accountability, not as charity.
“Legislators must insist on full release and proper use of funds allocated to nutrition,” he said. “Without laws and oversight, policies will not lead to results.”
The meeting was supported by the SUN Civil Society Alliance Nigeria, UNICEF, Nutrition International, and FHI 360. It focused on the need for states to domesticate national nutrition policies and create a framework for coordinated action.
Dr. Osita Okonkwo, Country Director of Nutrition International, said the growing involvement of lawmakers is a sign of progress, but stressed that many still misunderstand what nutrition involves.
“Nutrition is not just food palliatives. It includes micronutrients, antenatal supplements, and long-term health planning,” he said. “We need states to run maternal and child health weeks regularly and provide vitamin A supplementation to every child under five.”
He noted that many states fail to conduct the required two rounds of maternal and newborn health weeks each year, despite having access to millions of free vitamin A doses.
“Pregnant women need access to antenatal care and micronutrient supplements. These are essential, not optional,” Dr. Okonkwo said.
Clara Nwakaego, who chairs the State Committee on Food and Nutrition in Enugu state, said her state has stepped up its support for nutrition since 2023.
“The governor has approved the creation of a nutrition department to coordinate programmes across ministries,” she said. “We’re making better contributions to UNICEF and other partners, and sectors are beginning to work together.”
She added that the upcoming World Breastfeeding Week in August will include awareness sessions with women’s groups across communities.
“Many mothers are still unaware of the value of exclusive breastfeeding. But things are beginning to change as more women receive proper information,” she said.
Speakers at the event highlighted gaps in inter-agency coordination, low budget releases, and weak monitoring systems at the state level. CS-SUNN presented tools developed to help states plan, allocate, and track nutrition spending.
Legislators were urged to sponsor motions, hold hearings, and pass laws to ensure consistent funding for key nutrition programmes.
