Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), has decried the alarming rate of malnutrition and food insecurity in nations of the world, lamenting that Nigeria tops the list.

According to HOMEF, rather than directly addressing the challenges of malnutrition and food insecurity, the government of Nigeria is focused on the deployment of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) as a solution to food insecurity.

INFO DAILY reports that HOMEF’s research of 2023 reveals that Abuja tops the list of GM food with 16 products followed by Lagos with 12 products while 11 products were captured in Port Harcourt on the chart.

Benin City and Warri followed on the chart with 9 and 8 products respectively while Yenagoa, Uyo and Enugu had 4, 3 and 1 products in their respective markets during the research.

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Speaking at the organization’s Sustain- Ability Academy on Food Justice and Restoration which was held at the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Benin, Dr. Nnimmo Bassey, the Executive Director, HOMEF, Tasked Nigerians to challenge “current narratives in favour of industrial agriculture.”

Speaking on the theme: Food Justice and Restoration, Bassey, said the
current narratives of hunger in Nigeria and Africa require urgent in-depth interrogation, just as he attributed hunger in Nigeria to the persistent violence in the northeastern states of Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe (BAY).

Bassey added: “According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation, up 33.1 million Nigerians are projected to be food insecure in 2025.

“This projection is based on a number of factors namely: economic hardship, coupled with record high inflation (which reached 40.9 per cent for food in June 2024), climate change impacts, particularly foods, which directly impact the rising costs of both food and essential non-food commodities and services.

READ ALSO: Food Crisis: HOMEF, GMOs-Free Nigeria Train Abuja Farmers, CSOs, Others On Agroecology

He continued: “Persistent violence in the northeastern states of Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe (BAY) hinders food availability and access. Additionally, armed banditry and kidnapping in the Northwest and farmer-harder conflict in the North-Central states, including Zamfara, Kastina, Sokoto, Kaduna, Benue, Plateau and Niger, exacerbate the prevailing economic struggles,” he stressed.

The Executive Director, therefore, charged the Nigerian government to “protect the rights of people to safe food and a healthy environment irrespective of their social or financial status.”

“We all contribute by making healthy food choices, supporting agroecological initiatives, and advocating for policy reforms,” he added.

Earlier, the Dean, Faculty of Agriculture, UNIBEN, Prof. Chris Omokaro, said a Professor of Agricultural Economic it pleases him that the programme focuses on GMO, and urged Nigerians to interrogate if GMOs follow the natural principle of breeding.

18 year-old student of the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), Department of Accounting, Miss Faith Aduragbemi Olabisi, has qualified as a chartered accountant.

According to the bulletin of the university, the feat was described as a rare display of the superlative service delivery obtainable at the University of Ilorin.

The statement said that Miss Olabisi is one of the several candidates who were successful in the November 2024 professional examinations of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN).

Speaking on the development, Miss Olabisi said that it had always been her dream to become a chartered accountant as soon as possible.

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Miss Olabisi appreciated the support of her lecturers and mother who provided her with the necessary motivation needed to attain the feat at her age.

Also speaking on this rare feat, the acting head of the Department of Accounting, Dr Segun Abogun, said that he was very impressed with what he called “Miss Olabisi’s Outstanding Achievement.”

He explained that Miss Olabisi is one of the several students of the department that passed the ICAN professional examinations last year.

Dr Abogun encouraged Miss Olabisi and her colleagues to continue to serve as role models to others for the department to produce more chartered accountants among them, even before their graduation from the institution.

Reacting to the development, the vice chancellor, Professor Wahab Olasupo Egbewole, SAN, expressed delight with the laudable achievement of the Unilorite.

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In a statement issued by the institution’s director of Corporate Affairs, Mr Kunle Akogun, the VC, who said that he was not surprised with the performance of Miss Olabisi, said that the institution had always produced record-breaking professionals among its students, staff, and alumni.

The vice chancellor, who is also the secretary-general of the association of West African Universities (AWAU), explained that it is performances like that of Miss Olabisi and the enduring peace within the university that had made it the nation’s most sought-after.

Professor Egbewole congratulated Miss Olabisi for making herself, family, institution and womanhood proud as he encouraged her to continue to give her best to her studies and to remain a shining role-model not only in learning but also in character.

The VC also encouraged other students of the institution to emulate Miss Olabisi for them to also succeed in their academic and professional endeavours

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced that registration for the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and Direct Entry (DE) has not yet begun.