The Chairman of the House Committee on Nutrition, Jigawa House of Assembly, Mas’ud Naruwa, has announced a landmark commitment to dedicate at least one per cent of the state’s annual budget to nutrition from 2026.
Naruwa said this while speaking to journalists in Kaduna at the second day of a high-level stakeholders meeting aimed at enhancing inter-sectoral collaboration in addressing malnutrition.
According to reports that it was organised by the Jigawa State government with support from UNICEF.
He noted that, at a UNICEF seminar in Lagos, the assembly’s members pledged to work toward allocating one per cent of the state budget to nutrition.
Naruwa stated that if the move is achieved, it would be a game-changer in the fight against malnutrition.
He described the commitment as a promise to the next generation, emphasising that nutrition is not just a health issue, but an economic driver.
He said healthy children grow into productive citizens who can drive our state forward.
“That is why each member of the House of Assembly had already contributed N10million to support nutrition in their constituencies, totalling N300 million in 2025, which is only the beginning, by the grace of God,” he said.
The Chairman of the state’s chapter of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Sibu Abdullahi, stressed that local governments are ready to complement state-level actions through community-driven programmes.
“Some of our leaders today may not have received proper nutrition in their childhood, and we see the effects in performance,” he said.
“We cannot afford to repeat this mistake. That is why we are investing in our children now.”
Abdullahi praised Governor Umar Namadi for placing health as the state’s second priority and pushing nutrition to the forefront.
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