Posted by Chinenye on Fri 16th Oct, 2026 - tori.ng
Nigerian lawmakers are calling for stronger action over concerns about the food people eat every day.
(House of Representatives. Photo by Legislative Vibes)
The House of Representatives wants stronger food safety laws and stricter enforcement to protect Nigerians from toxic chemicals and fake or unsafe food.
Lawmakers say the country has plenty of policies but very few laws that can actually be enforced.
The House Committee on Nutrition and Food Security made the call at a media briefing in Abuja on Friday to mark World Food Day 2026.
The committee clerk, Dr Agenti Milicent Millicent, read a speech on behalf of the chairman, Chike Okafor.
The committee is worried about malnutrition, stunting, wasting and anaemia in children.
It also warned that unsafe farming and the careless use of chemicals could lead to kidney and liver disease.
It is working on a bill to set up a body that will regulate nutritionists
. It is also pushing a National Nutrition Bill that the Presidency has been preparing through the Office of the Vice President.
On top of that, the committee is looking into how some agencies may have misused farm intervention funds.
This includes the ginger blight that hurt farms in parts of the country.
It has not released its findings yet.
Food safety advocate Dr Adebayo Segun asked for a full probe of farm support programmes and the chemicals used in food production.
He also encouraged organic farming and planting edible crops where possible.