General
AERC Sets Agenda for Tackling Nutrition, Food Challenges
Discussions around food and nutrition security took centre stage at the just concluded Senior Policy Seminar hosted by the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC), in partnership with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The two-day conference, which held from March 9 to 10, 2020 and was supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, had the theme Agriculture and Food Policies for Better Nutrition Outcomes in Africa.
Prof. Njunguna Ndung’u, the Executive Director of AERC, in his opening address, emphasised that the seminar focused on Agriculture, Food Security and Nutrition Outcomes in Africa because agriculture is the main stay of most economies and contributes to wealth, economic activity, employment and nutrition welfare outcomes.
He added that most policies and initiatives in this area have tended to focus on, and to target, agricultural production metrics, and do not directly relate to nutrition outcome and targets or actual food consumption.
“Global Panel of Agriculture and Food Systems for Nutrition points out that there is a dearth of quality data to properly inform policies on nutrition. This has tended to limit the effectiveness of agricultural policies in improving nutrition outcomes.
“In addition to data challenges, there has been lack of high-quality policy analyses that explore the effect of agricultural policies on nutrition. We need now to combine forces to achieve the best nutrition outcomes,” he said.
Mr Ndung’u also reiterated that AERC will continually focus on quality research and strengthen policy influence. The AERC, known for training policy makers across Africa, is dedicated to strengthening capacity building for conducting policy-oriented research, policy analyses and informed policy.
Currently, the organisation has select universities that run their programmes in Policy Making for students at both Masters degree and PhD levels. Some of these partnering institutions are University of Ibadan, University of Benin, University of Dare Salaam, University of Cape Town and University of Nairobi.
There were various paper presentations, discussions and floor discussions on relevant topics such as agricultural growth patterns, nutrition transitions, the triple burden of malnutrition in Africa, diet diversity and how to combat malnutrition through food policies.
Although it was agreed that Africa was not yet winning the war against acute hunger and malnutrition, the policy makers commended governments across Africa for realizing the importance of increasing shares of national budgets to agriculture, health and nutrition.
There was also a Policy Roundtable where it was resolved that increasing household income can help address malnutrition. It was also said that science, technology and innovation were key in improving malnutrition.
The Senior Policy Seminar had in attendance senior policy makers and thought leaders from around the continent. They included: Mr Sani Nanono, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development; Mr Adeniyi Adebayo, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment; Mr Isaac Okoroafor, Director, Corporate Communications, CBN; Mr Issa-Toure Salahaddine, Deputy Speaker, National Assembly, Togo; Mr Onyoti Adigo Nyikwac, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, South Sudan and Mr Marcos Alexandre Nhunga, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Liberia.
Others were Prof. Osita Ogbu, former Minister for Planning and National Development; Lucious Kanyumba, former Minister for Education, Malawi; Ms Barbra Barungi, former Lead Economist, AfDB and Dr Esi Colecraft from the University of Ghana.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has confirmed the collapse of five transmission towers along the Ikot Abasi–Eket 132kV Double Circuit Transmission Line.
This was attributed to severe acts of vandalism, as TCN disclosed that the structure collapsed after vandals removed critical structural bracing members.
The affected towers were N9, J4, N10, N11 and N12, the organisation said in a statement on Friday.
It explained that the extensive damage was discovered during a routine joint line patrol conducted on August 9, 2026, by TCN linesmen.
Further inspection revealed that structural members from seven additional towers along the same transmission corridor had also been removed and stolen. The towers, J3, N8, N13, N14, N15, N18 and N19, are now structurally compromised and pose a risk of further collapse.
TCN condemned this act of sabotage and reiterated its commitment to working hard to maintain a robust and reliable national grid.
The statement said that to mitigate the impact on electricity supply, the network has been reconfigured to prioritise supply to Ekim transmission station, leaving Ibom Power as the only station without supply.
TCN said it is mobilising an urgent intervention to complete the reconstruction of the affected sections of the line, with security agencies also notified to aid investigations and prevent further acts of vandalism along the line route.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Tajudeen Abbas, has urged all relevant government agencies to promptly initiate actions for the full implementation of the Nigerian Ports Economic Regulatory Agency Act, 2026, following its signing into law by President Bola Tinubu.
The bill, sponsored by Speaker Abbas, was aimed at repealing the Nigerian Shippers’ Council Act, Cap. N133, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, and establish the Nigerian Ports Economic Regulatory Agency to ensure effective economic regulation of Nigerian ports while safeguarding the interests of shippers, service providers, and users of regulated port services. With the President’s assent, it has now been enacted as an Act of Parliament.
The legislation represents one of the landmark achievements of the 10th National Assembly. It reflects the Speaker’s commitment to legislative excellence, institutional reform, and sustainable economic growth, according to a press statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the Speaker, Mr Musa Krishi.
The bill underwent a rigorous and inclusive legislative process, including extensive stakeholder consultations and a public hearing. It was passed by both Chambers of the National Assembly and subsequently assented to by the President.
The Act provides a robust legal and institutional framework to ensure effective economic regulation of Nigerian ports by fostering transparency, competitiveness, and efficiency in port operations; protecting the rights and interests of shippers, service providers, and other port users; and aligning Nigeria’s port regulatory system with global best practices, thereby enhancing the ease and cost-effectiveness of doing business.
Despite receiving presidential assent, the Act has yet to be fully operationalised.
He warned that any further delay would undermine the legislative intent of the reform, prolong the exposure of port users to arbitrary charges and operational inefficiencies, and deny the nation the anticipated benefits of increased revenue, improved trade facilitation, and stronger investor confidence in the marine and blue economy sector.
The Speaker urged the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, in collaboration with all relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the federal government, to take the necessary administrative, institutional, and financial measures for the prompt implementation of the Act.
He said this should include the formal transition to, as well as operational empowerment of, the Nigerian Ports Economic Regulatory Agency to discharge its statutory mandate effectively.
The full implementation of the Act is critical to unlocking the economic potential of Nigeria’s ports, reducing the cost of doing business, strengthening trade competitiveness, and positioning Nigeria as the leading maritime and logistics hub in West and Central Africa.
The statement noted that the Speaker reaffirmed the 10th House’s commitment to exercising the necessary legislative oversight to ensure this landmark legislation, along with others assented to by the President, is fully implemented and achieves its intended goals for the benefit of the Nigerian people.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Federal Ministry of Youth Development (FMYD), through the Nigerian Youth Academy (NiYA), has partnered with Cascador, a Nigeria-focused platform for growth-stage founders, to provide funding and support for the next generation of Nigerian youth entrepreneurs.
The announcement coincides with International Youth Day 2026, whose global theme this year — Different Contexts, Common Aspirations — calls on institutions to close the gap between young people’s circumstances and their opportunities. The pilot is an early step toward NiYA’s broader ambition to train and empower 7 million Nigerian youth within two years.
The NiYA and Cascador Founders Programme will begin with a pilot cohort of 20 early-stage Nigerian youth founders, including entrepreneurs without formal business registration or established financial records.
Over four weeks, participants will undergo intensive training focused on business fundamentals, investment readiness and pitch preparation. At the end of the programme, the eight top-performing founders will receive non-dilutive funding of up to N5 million each from Cascador, alongside an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution to help them structure, manage and scale their businesses.
The funding and support will be presented at a Pitch Day organised by NiYA and the Federal Ministry of Youth Development.
The Minister for Youth Development, Mr s Ayodele Olawande, said the partnership would enable NiYA to move beyond training by helping young people transform ideas into investable businesses and achieve sustainable economic participation through business preparation and access to capital.
“The pilot is deliberately designed to test a model that can go beyond one cohort. If young founders can be identified early, prepared properly, connected to credible capital and supported to build stronger business systems, then access to opportunity becomes less dependent on background or existing networks. That is the larger objective: to build a youth entrepreneurship ecosystem in which readiness, ideas and execution can increasingly determine who gets the opportunity to grow.”
The pilot will run in-person in Abuja with virtual touchpoints and 1:1 mentorship. All 20 graduates retain NiYA alumni status, with priority consideration for future opportunities.
NiYA and FMYD have already shown what real commitment to Nigeria’s youth looks like — the platforms, the reach, the ambition to train millions. What we’re building together now is the missing piece, a practical bridge from the ideation stage to real capital-readiness. When a Ministry so dedicated to its young people asked Cascador to help build that bridge, it was an easy decision,” said Trish Thomas, CEO of Cascador.
Ms Oyin Solebo, COO of Cascador and former Managing Director of the ARM Labs Lagos Techstars Accelerator, highlighted the partnership’s impact, saying, “This is what innovative capital deployment looks like: a government building real investment readiness at scale, and a partner meeting that foundational work with non-dilutive funding at exactly the moment it’s needed. Partnerships like this open doors that neither of us could open alone.”
