Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, has officially inaugurated the Abia State Council on Nutrition as part of efforts to drive the implementation of the Federal Government’s Nutrition 774 Initiative across the state.
The inauguration, held on Tuesday, marks a significant step toward promoting nutrition and health awareness in all 17 local government areas of the state.
The Council is expected to steer leadership, provide policy guidance, coordinate efforts, and oversee sustainability strategies in alignment with the N-774 policy framework.
Speaking at the event, Governor Otti described the initiative as timely and essential, adding that it aligns with his administration’s commitment to health and education.
“Clearly, when you talk about nutrition, the initiative is very good and we welcome it. The heavy investments we are making, first of all, in healthcare, 15% of our total budget envelope in the last two years has been reserved for healthcare and 20% for education. So that’s a whopping 35% of the total budget,” Otti noted.
“So, when you see us fixing roads in Aba, in Umuahia, cleaning up the environment, ensuring that the investments we are making in healthcare—you will find that if people are well fed, they will probably not be sick. So, you will find that your investment is good there, and the number of people that take ill will be reducing.
“So, what am I driving at? I’m saying as a government, we’ve taken those decisions that give the kind of outcomes you are monitoring.
“But we have not been deliberate in monitoring the numbers. And now that you have come here, if there’s nothing else you have succeeded in doing, it’s to now get us to be deliberate in monitoring our numbers,” the Governor stated.
His remarks followed an advocacy visit by the National Technical Working Group, led by Mrs. Uju Rochas-Anwukah, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Health and the Focal Person for the Nutrition 774 initiative.
Otti urged the newly inaugurated Nutrition Council to prioritize coordination and monitoring of performance indicators, describing such efforts as vital to delivering meaningful interventions.
Presenting a comprehensive overview of the initiative, Mrs. Rochas-Anwukah emphasized the urgency of addressing malnutrition in Nigeria, which she described as a crisis of global proportions.
She said the N-774 initiative is designed to improve nutritional indices across all 774 local government areas nationwide by engaging multiple sectors such as health, education, agriculture, social protection, food systems, and water sanitation.
“Malnutrition is a global menace that requires collective efforts to combat,” she said. “We may not reside here, but even from Abuja, we hear the testimonies of progress. We sincerely commend you, and this speaks volumes of your leadership and vision, and we congratulate you and your entire team. Your Excellency, malnutrition is a menace killing our people.
“It’s a global challenge. It doesn’t just exist here in Nigeria. It’s a universal issue that does not understand tribal differences. It doesn’t understand religious differences. It does not understand political differences. But it’s one that requires a collective, collaborative effort across all sectors and across all tiers of government,” she added.
The newly formed Council will be chaired by Governor Otti himself, with the Commissioner for Budget and Planning serving as Vice Chairman.
Other members include the Chairman of the House Committee on Food and Nutrition, the ALGON Chairman, and Commissioners from key ministries such as Health, Agriculture, Education, Finance, Women Affairs, Information, Power and Public Utilities, and Social Protection.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Budget and Planning will serve as the Secretary of the Council.
The inauguration was witnessed by several top government officials and stakeholders.