General
Malnutrition: Implementation of SDGs in Nigeria Worries Stakeholders
By Dipo Olowookere
The implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in terms of alleviating malnutrition in Nigeria has been questioned by stakeholders in the nation’s nutrition and development space.
Experts in the field said they are not impressed with the localisation of the SDGs and have, therefore, called for an urgent review of the implementation.
According to a social development expert with over 25 years of experience, Ms Foyinsola Oyebola, the review is necessary if Nigeria is to achieve any of the SDGs, specifically SDG 2, which is “to eradicate hunger and prevent all forms of malnutrition,” stressing that SDG 2 is critical to achieving all the SDGs.
Speaking at a recent Protein Challenge webinar titled The UN Decade of Action on Nutrition: Connecting the Dots for Nigeria, she argued that, “Nigeria is facing a nutrition crisis on multiple fronts, with rising levels of food insecurity.”
“To ensure that no Nigerian is left behind, we have to bridge the gap between policy statements and implementation at all levels. We must petition the government to mainstream SDG 2 into state and local government programmes,” Ms Oyebola submitted.
On his part, the National Coordinator, Media Centre Against Child Malnutrition (MeCAM), a member of the Civil Society Scaling-Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN), Mr Remmy Nweke, proposed increased budgetary lines in the health and agricultural sectors.
He said that there was an urgent need to review the school feeding programme and to encourage smallholder farmers with better seedlings and other agricultural inputs and decried the persistent insecurity challenges in the country, noting that it negatively impacts access to nutritious food in many parts of Nigeria.
In his remarks, a nutrition consultant, entrepreneur and member of the Nutrition Society of Nigeria (NSN), Mr Collins Akanno, disclosed that individuals need to begin to implement home gardening and good nutrition habits.
“Nigerians need to be properly educated on sustainable agricultural practices. Many people do not know that certain food crops around them are very healthy and nutritious. A lot of nutrition education needs to be done to create awareness on all platforms, from community outreaches to social media,” he said.
“There are local food options in Nigeria that are rich in essential nutrients. Soybeans, egusi (melon seeds), millet, groundnuts, and even pumpkin leaves are particularly highly nutritious,” Mr Akanno said.
He explained that in an ideal health plate, the most food portion on the plate should be proteins and vegetables, followed by fruits and healthy carbs. He pointed out that soybeans are rich in proteins, dietary fibre, and micronutrients.
The nutritionist lamented the neglect of micronutrients, which has caused micronutrient deficiencies or “hidden hunger” in the country. Hidden hunger, or micronutrient deficiency, is the lack of vital nutrients in the body.
He also referred to the Nigerian Protein Deficiency Report, a recent survey that examines the level of protein deficiency in Nigeria and sheds light on the food consumption pattern among Nigerians, and reiterated that the convergence of high cost and availability increased the prevalence of protein deficiency in the nation.
Mr Akanno advised that nutrition education and sensitization, particularly among people in the rural areas, on malnutrition and its effects, would help to curb protein deficiency.
The webinar session was moderated by Martha Okpeke, a Development Enthusiast and Public Relations Practitioner.
It was organised as a part of the Nigeria Protein Deficiency Awareness Campaign (Protein Challenge), which is a media campaign to create awareness about the challenge of protein deficiency in Nigeria, and to mobilise relevant stakeholders to collaborate in mitigating the problem.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has explained why it initiated a move to freeze the bank account of the Osun State government.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Governor of Osun State, Mr Ademola Adeleke, claimed that the anti-money laundering agency asked one of its bankers, First Bank, not to release funds to the state government.
According to the Governor, this was part of the strategies to frustrate his administration ahead of the August 15, 2026, governorship election in the state.
Reacting to the issue on Wednesday night, the EFCC, in a statement, said it has been investigating the state government since March 2026 over an alleged “fraudulent handling of Ecology Funds, Intervention Funds and Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) account to the tune of N11.0 billion.
The organisation noted that some officials of the state government, especially the Accountant General of the State, have had interview sessions with investigators of the EFCC.
“These ongoing investigations of the state government would not have warranted any placement of Post No Debit order on its account but for the precipitate and unwarranted movement of funds from the accounts to different suspicious accounts since August 2, 2026.
“The commission noticed huge transfers of funds into different corporate entities and had to swiftly halt the trend by freezing the accounts from which such heavy funds are being moved,” parts of the statement said.
In the disclosure, the agency noted that its preventive mandate is a public-inclined framework of safeguarding public funds, assets and resources, stressing that it cannot “watch idly while a state government’s account is being pillaged.”
“While the commission is fully aware of the impending governorship election in Osun State, it has a responsibility to act in defence of the sanctity of the funds of the state. It will be uncharitable for the commission to allow an excuse of an upcoming election to fold its arms to perform its legally-assigned functions,” it pointed out.
The EFCC disclosed that it is “keeping watch over the finances of other states like Osun State. Many of these states are on the investigative radar of the commission to ensure accountability and probity. The commission has always pointed out that it is non-partisan and non-sectarian but always working in the overall interests of Nigerians. The Osun State government account was frozen to save public funds from being looted.”
The organisation urged the public “to ignore false narratives and deliberate demonisation of the works of the EFCC. The interests of all Nigerians are greater and will always be protected by the commission.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has launched a mobile application designed to monitor fuel consumption patterns in real time across retail outlets nationwide.
The NMDPRA, established under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, is responsible for the technical and commercial regulation of Nigeria’s midstream and downstream petroleum operations. The deployment of the mobile application aligns with the authority’s broader efforts to leverage technology to improve regulatory compliance and strengthen accountability.
The pilot phase of the project began on August 1 in Abuja and its six Area Councils, the authority said in a statement published on X.
As part of the rollout, the Executive Director for Distribution Systems, Storage and Retailing Infrastructure (DSSRI), Mr Ogbugo Ukoha, led a team alongside officials from the Abuja Regional Office to assess the readiness and operational performance of the digital platform at participating retail outlets.
According to the NMDPRA, the application captures inventory and compliance data in real time, enabling regulators to monitor fuel distribution more effectively while improving operational efficiency across the sector.
The authority said the platform would generate reliable, data-driven insights to support evidence-based decision-making, strengthen national energy security planning and enhance transparency in the downstream petroleum industry.
It added that the initiative is expected to provide significant value to government, investors, operators and other stakeholders by improving access to accurate fuel consumption and compliance data.
Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector has undergone significant changes since the deregulation of the petrol market and the removal of fuel subsidies, with regulators placing greater emphasis on data-driven supervision to ensure product availability, prevent supply disruptions and discourage sharp regional disparities in distribution.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
No doubt, moving money among African markets remains a slow, fragmented process that relies on multiple intermediaries and prolonged settlement cycles.
To solve this issue and drive the development of stablecoin-enabled payment services for businesses across the continent, Onafriq has joined forces with a leading stablecoin infrastructure provider, Privy.
The collaboration will enable Onafriq to create and manage embedded digital asset solutions for its partners and, in time, institutional clients where regulation allows. The initial phase focuses on cross-chain stablecoin transfers and treasury and settlement workflows, creating the foundation for future cross-border payment and liquidity solutions.
Integrating Privy’s secure infrastructure enables Onafriq to build the capabilities required to support a new generation of efficient digital payment services for banks, fintechs, and mobile money operators.
This partnership is a key component of Onafriq’s broader strategy to modernise pan-African payment infrastructure, enabling secure multi-modal wallets and more efficient movement of value across the continent.
The outcome will support a range of future institutional use cases, including stablecoin-enabled settlement, treasury management and liquidity services, as it reflects Onafriq’s commitment to driving Africa’s digital transformation agenda by investing in technologies that make financial services more efficient, connected and accessible.
It was gathered that Onafriq selected Privy for its enterprise-grade infrastructure to enable the seamless integration of digital asset wallet capabilities into its products, subject to regulatory approval, and deliver a simple user experience while abstracting the complexity of blockchain technology.
“At Onafriq, we keep investing in technology that makes payments faster and more accessible. Privy gives us a building block for faster settlement and better liquidity management. As demand for digital asset services grows, our goal is to ensure Africa’s payment ecosystem benefits securely and in line with regulatory frameworks,” the Group Chief Product and Innovation Officer at Onafriq,” Mr Luke Kyohere, said.
The chief executive of Privy, Mr Henri Stern, said, “Stablecoins will play an increasingly important role in the future of global payments, but real-world adoption depends on infrastructure that is secure, scalable and simple to implement. Working with Onafriq allows us to help build that foundation across Africa and beyond.”
