New Telegraph

Abbas Raises Alarm Over Food Insecurity

…As Reps, 27 State Assemblies Move To End Hunger

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, on Monday, raised concern over the growing food insecurity in the country.

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

The speaker raised the alarm at the imagination of the National Legislative Network on Nutrition and Food Security in Abuja organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Nutrition and Food Security.

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

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

“We need the involvement of the state assemblies 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.”

“The presence of the ministers shows the commitment of the president to address food security in the country while urging Nigerians to give the executive the needed support”.

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives and 27 state houses of assembly, including ministers, have resolved to end malnutrition and food insecurity in the country with adequate collaboration.

Chairman of the House Committee on Nutrition and Food Security, Chike Okafor who disclosed this said that it was important to note that malnutrition and food insecurity remained a constant threat to socio-economic development in Nigeria.

He added that this had become an existential threat, adding 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.

Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly and Chairman of the Conference of Speakers, State Legislators, Debo Ogundoyin said the well-being of the citizenry in the area of food security and nutrition had taken centre stage.

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

He 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 most deprived countries in Africa when it comes to nourishment for our children.

In his remarks, Minister of Health and Social Welfare, 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.

He said that the country had struggled with acute malnutrition, adding that 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.

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

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

“Nutrition is a localised 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.”

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

He listed banditry, kidnapping, and policy framework, among others, as some of the factors responsible for the malnutrition 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”

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