Rep Chike Okafor Harps on the Commitment of the Legislature to Enhance Nutrition In Nigeria
The Member representing Ehime-Mbano, Ihitte-Uboma and Obowo in the Federal House of Representatives and Chairman House Committee on Nutrition and Food Security, Hon. Deacon Chike Okafor, Ph.D, yesterday, participated as a Panelist at the Nutrition Side Event at the Joint Annual Review (JAR 2026).
The event, themed; “From Commitment To Impact: Reaching Every Community With Nutrition,” held at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, brought together government, development partners and the private sector to discuss how to deliver multisectoral nutrition interventions at the community level.
The panel session, titled “Delivering Multisectoral Nutrition Interventions at the Community Level: ROLE OF THE LEGISLATURE,” was moderated by Mr. Seun Okinbaloye of Channels Television.
Other panelists were Mallam Umar A. Namadi, Executive Governor of Jigawa State, Ms. Wafaa Saeed, UNICEF Nigeria Country Representative, and Mr. Dhiren Chandaria, Chairman, Ariel Foods.
In his contribution, Hon. Deacon Chike Okafor, said Nigeria’s Legislature has three core powers – lawmaking, appropriation, oversight, and a fourth, representation, asserting that all four are critical for nutrition.
Lawmaking; In giving nutrition a legal backbone, he called for the passage of the National Nutrition Bill to ensure sustained financing and clearly define roles across federal, state and local governments. He also called for review of related laws, including maternity leave from 3 to 6 months to support exclusive breastfeeding, regulation of bulk / adulterated vegetable oil, food fortification, food safety, and removal of multiple taxation on food produce. He opined that State Houses of Assembly must domesticate national policy since Nigeria is a federation.
Appropriation, The performing Federal lawmaker called for pro-nutrition budgetary allocation not just to Health, but to Agriculture, Education, Women Affairs and Social Protection. He insisted that nutrition funds must be ring-fenced, with timely release and counterpart funding for programmes, and that Nutrition 774 must be approved and protected.
Oversight, To make delivery accountable, he pointed to the House Committee on Nutrition and Food Security, as tool for accountability through public hearings, constituency visits, and tracking how every Naira is budgeted, released and spent through the Nutrition Dashboard.
Representation, Hon. Okafor disclosed that legislators must sensitize constituents, promote local nutritious foods, feeding and agricultural extension across LGAs, and ensure pregnant women, children under 5, and adolescent girls are prioritized in laws and budgets.
In his closing remarks, Hon. Deacon Chike Okafor denoted that structures without law die with administrations while laws without structure remains on paper, disclosing further that Nutrition 774 remains a programme, not a right. He recapped by saying that Nutrition should be a statutory obligation of every tier of government, with a clear budget line and a clear coordinating body and a clear reporting duty to the people.