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ABUJA, NIGERIA – The Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) has confirmed strengthened partnership with the Presidency aimed at accelerating the nationwide implementation of the Nutrition 774 Initiative, following a high-level engagement between its national leadership and Vice President Senator Kashim Shettima at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The meeting, led by ALGON National President, Hon. Engr. Bello Lawal, was described by the association as a strategic milestone in aligning federal policies with grassroots implementation, positioning Nigeria’s 774 constitutionally recognised Local Government Areas as the primary vehicles for delivering the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the areas of nutrition, food security, primary healthcare, and human capital development.
Addressing journalists after the engagement, ALGON National Publicity Secretary and Spokesperson, Hon. Anani Hamisu Mohammed, said the meeting represented a significant shift toward institutionalising stronger collaboration between the Federal Government and local councils.
According to him, the engagement was far more than a ceremonial visit, stressing that it was designed to synchronise national policy with community-level implementation for measurable development outcomes.
“Democracy derives its legitimacy where the people reside. In Nigeria, governance legitimacy is domiciled in the 774 Local Government Areas. This was therefore not a courtesy call. It was a calibration of mandates to ensure that federal policy translates into measurable outcomes at community level,” Anani stated.
He disclosed that ALGON has adopted a coordinated, data-driven framework to implement the Nutrition 774 Initiative nationwide, with all 774 local government chairmen designated as Nutrition Champions responsible for driving the programme in their respective councils.
Under the strategy, the association plans to mobilise traditional rulers, women leaders, youth organisations and community health extension workers into an integrated last-mile delivery system aimed at improving maternal and child nutrition across the country.
Anani explained that the initiative would also feature robust monitoring, evaluation and accountability mechanisms at the local government level to measure progress in reducing child stunting, improving dietary diversity, strengthening maternal nutrition services and expanding school feeding programmes.
He reaffirmed ALGON’s commitment to supporting the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda, describing local governments as the most effective tier of government for translating national policies into tangible community development.
“Our alignment with the Renewed Hope Agenda is deliberate. We possess the institutional memory, the political will, and the administrative reach to convert policy intent into community impact. When the 774 LGAs are mobilised in unison, the trajectory of national development changes,” he said.
The ALGON spokesman further stressed that the association remains committed to ensuring that every child has access to proper nutrition, every mother benefits from nutrition services, and every community is included in the national effort to tackle malnutrition.
“We are determined to ensure that no child suffers the burden of preventable malnutrition, that no mother is excluded from nutrition services, and that no community is left behind in this national assignment. This is constitutional democracy in motion. This is governance with proximity,” he added.
The meeting ended with both parties agreeing to strengthen intergovernmental collaboration through a permanent interface between the Office of the Vice President and ALGON to coordinate implementation, oversight and long-term sustainability of the Nutrition 774 Initiative across Nigeria’s 774 Local Government Areas.
The development is expected to reinforce local government participation in national nutrition and public health interventions while expanding grassroots ownership of programmes designed to improve the welfare of millions of Nigerians.
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