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Tag: Bauchi Assembly

  • Bauchi Assembly probes N1b child nutrition funds

    Bauchi Assembly probes N1b child nutrition funds

    Bauchi Assembly has ordered a thorough investigation into the expenditure of over N1 billion allocated for food and nutrition for children.

    The investigation follows  reports of rising malnutrition rates despite the funds being released almost 100 percent in previous years.

    The lawmakers reached this resolution during a two-day advocacy and sensitisation meeting organised by the State Committee on Food and Nutrition in collaboration with the Ministry of Budget, Economic Planning, and Multilateral Coordination, with support from UNICEF.

    During the dialogue , shocking revelations emerged about the N1 billion spent on child nutrition in Bauchi over two years.

     Reacting to the troubling data showing numerous children at risk of death, Bauchi Speaker Abubakar Suleiman, expressed deep concern, noting that despite billions spent on nutrition, the crisis persists. He pledged to investigate the spending.

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    “This is worrisome. Something is wrong somewhere. Honourable Members, with your permission, I want to suggest that the House Committee on Food and Nutrition embark on an oversight function to find out what went wrong,” he stated.

    The Nation  reports that the state recently shut down its Centres for the Management of Acute Malnutrition due to a shortage of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF), essential for treating Severe Acute Malnutrition. 

    Bauchi has the highest number of malnourished children in the Northeast subregion.

    The Speaker called on the House Committee on Food and Nutrition to launch a full-scale investigation to uncover the cause of the problem. 

    His suggestion was unanimously supported by all 31 Members present at the meeting.

    The lawmakers insisted on a comprehensive probe to identify the missing link in the implementation of the nutrition budget and ensure accountability in the utilization of public funds.

  • Bauchi Assembly moves to adopt policy to reduce number of out-of-school children

    Bauchi Assembly moves to adopt policy to reduce number of out-of-school children

    Worried by the increasing number of out-of-school children, the Bauchi State House of Assembly has expressed its readiness to expedite action on the domestication of a policy framework to address the menace.

    The chairman of the House Committee on Education, Nasiru Ahmed Ala, disclosed this at a two-day regional stakeholders engagement meeting on the out-of-school children and the retention, transition, and completion models in Bauchi, Gombe, and Adamawa states held at Emerald Hotel Hall, Gombe, Gombe state.

    Ala, representing the Madara/Chinede constituency in the state Assembly, expressed deep concern over the significant number of out-of-school children in Bauchi, estimated at 1.2 million.

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    He emphasized the urgency of addressing the issue while highlighting the collaborative efforts of lawmakers from Adamawa and Gombe States to adopt the National Framework of Action in their respective states.

    In his remark at the workshop, the Chief of Field Office, UNICEF Bauchi Field Office, Dr. Tushar Rane, reiterated the U.N agency‘s commitment to addressing the high rate of out-of-school children and low learning achievements, particularly in the north-east and north-west regions of Nigeria.

    He also emphasized the importance of the workshop in providing models to guide states in tackling the out-of-school children phenomenon, enhancing community accountability and mobilization, utilizing innovations and technologies to improve access to quality education, and financing efforts to reduce out-of-school children in the northeastern part of Nigeria.