The House of Representatives has passed for second reading, a bill seeking to establish the Nutritionists Registration Council of Nigeria, aimed at regulating the nutrition profession, eliminating quackery and strengthening public health.

Chairman of the House Committee on Nutrition and Food Security, Chike John Okafor, said the proposed council would operate as a self-funding regulatory body to register and license nutritionists, accredit training institutions, approve academic curricula and enforce professional standards.

He said the legislation would help address Nigeria’s growing malnutrition challenge by ensuring only qualified professionals practice as nutritionists.

In another development, legal practitioner, Emaya Alibeku, appealed to President Bola Tinubu and the House of Representatives to intervene in a dispute over a property in Guzape, Abuja, urging the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to vacate the premises and comply with a subsisting Federal High Court order.

Addressing House of Representatives Press corps in Abuja, Alibeku, counsel to Dr. Rebecca Godwin Omokomo-Isaac, alleged that the EFCC ignored a court directive to maintain the status quo while the ownership dispute remains before the court.