ABUJA — Vice President Kashim Shettima has charged local government chairmen to drive the implementation of the Nutrition 774, N-774, Initiative at the grassroots to improve nutritional outcomes in communities across Nigeria.
Speaking on Friday, during a courtesy visit by the National Executive Committee of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria, ALGON, to the Presidential Villa, Abuja, the Vice President directed ALGON to actively participate in and strengthen the Local Government Committees on Food and Nutrition.
Senator Shettima said the committees must become centres of planning, coordination, implementation and accountability in every council area.
”I urge ALGON to drive this process with determination so that every council develops functional structures capable of delivering measurable improvements in nutrition at the community level,” he stated.
The Vice President told the ALGON Executive that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s commitment to nutrition is a governance directive that must be strengthened to become fully operational.
”The commitment of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to nutrition is a governance directive. Strengthening every tier of government is the pathway through which that directive becomes operational,” he said.
”National concern must become institutional action, institutional action must become measurable outcomes, and measurable outcomes must be reflected in healthier families, stronger communities, and children whose opportunities in life are no longer constrained by preventable malnutrition.”
VP Shettima noted that while state governments have made commendable contributions, the absence of a coherent nutrition agenda in many LGAs has created a significant gap in the governance framework established by the National Policy on Food and Nutrition.
”That gap weakens implementation where impact matters most. National ambitions cannot flourish if they lose momentum before reaching the communities they were designed to serve,” he said.
He described LG chairmen as the closest tier of government to the people and “first responders” to community challenges.
ALGON Pledges Support
The ALGON National President, Engr. Bello Lawal, commended President Tinubu for placing food security, nutrition and human capital development at the centre of the Renewed Hope Agenda.
He said the association sees Nutrition 774 as an opportunity to strengthen local food systems, increase agricultural productivity, reduce post-harvest losses, and promote local value chains.
”On behalf of ALGON, I assure Your Excellency that we will continue to provide the leadership required to ensure that the objectives of Nutrition 774 translate into measurable improvements in the lives of our citizens,” Lawal said.
He requested the VP’s support for the inclusion of nutrition services for pregnant women and children in the National Health Insurance Scheme benefit package, and for the inclusion of ALGON and the 774 LGAs in national programmes.
He assured that ALGON would intensify community awareness campaigns to make nutrition a household responsibility.
The VP said tackling insecurity, poverty and youth restiveness at the grassroots would significantly accelerate national development.
