According to a report by Punch on Thursday, September 17, 2026, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has raised concerns over Nigeria’s worsening child malnutrition crisis, linking the situation to rising food, transportation and energy costs and warning that increasing economic pressure is affecting the ability of families to provide adequate nutrition for their children.
Atiku made his position known in a statement issued on Thursday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu.
The former vice president cited recent nutrition figures which showed that 41.1 per cent of Nigerian children under the age of five are stunted, while 19.2 per cent are severely stunted.
He said the figures highlighted the scale of the nutrition challenges confronting children and families across the country.
According to him, the situation requires attention to the economic conditions affecting households, particularly as families continue to deal with the rising cost of food and other essential needs.
Atiku said the situation was more severe in the North-West, where stunting affects 58.2 per cent of children.
He also referred to concerns recently raised by the Nutrition Society of Nigeria over the scale of malnutrition among Nigerian children.
According to the figures cited by the former vice president, nearly two million Nigerian children are affected by severe acute malnutrition, while only about two in every 10 affected children receive treatment.
Atiku said the figures should be considered alongside the financial pressures confronting families across the country.
He argued that when the prices of food and other essential commodities rise, households are faced with difficult choices over how to distribute limited incomes among food, education, transportation, healthcare and other needs.
The former vice president said children are particularly affected when families are unable to consistently provide meals that contain the nutrients required for healthy growth and development.
The African Democratic Congress presidential candidate further linked the nutrition crisis to the broader increase in the cost of living, particularly the cost of food, transportation and energy.
Atiku said the effect of higher energy and transportation costs goes beyond the direct amount paid by consumers at filling stations.
According to him, increased energy costs can affect the expenses incurred by farmers, businesses and transport operators, with the additional costs eventually affecting the prices of goods and services.
He said the cost of moving agricultural produce from farms to markets is also affected by transportation expenses, while small businesses that depend on energy for their operations face additional financial pressure when the cost of running their activities increases.
Atiku argued that these factors can contribute to the pressure on household incomes and make it more difficult for families to maintain adequate food consumption.
He said the impact of rising costs should therefore be considered in relation to their effects on the wider economy and household welfare.
Atiku also referred to food inflation figures from the National Bureau of Statistics, which he said currently stood at 19.57 per cent.
He said the rising cost of food was particularly important in considering the nutrition challenges facing Nigerian families because food represents a major part of household expenditure.
The former vice president also cited the World Bank’s position that higher petrol prices can reduce household purchasing power directly while transmitting additional costs to other goods and services, particularly transportation.
According to Atiku, the relationship between energy prices, transportation expenses and food costs means that increases in one area can place additional pressure on households in other areas.
He said families already dealing with higher prices may have less money available for nutritious food when a larger proportion of their income is required for transportation, energy and other necessities.
Atiku maintained that these pressures should be taken into account when discussing the country’s child malnutrition situation and the economic policies required to address it.
The former vice president also outlined his proposed intervention in the petroleum sector, saying it was intended to address some of the cost pressures associated with energy and transportation.
Atiku explained that his proposal was based on what he described as a production subsidy rather than a return to the previous system of subsidising imported petrol.
He said the proposed approach would be tied to petroleum products refined within Nigeria, meaning that companies or refineries that do not refine in the country would not qualify for the subsidy.
According to him, the objective of the proposal is to support domestic refining while addressing some of the costs that affect consumers and businesses.
Atiku said the policy should not be confused with the former petrol import subsidy system, stressing that the proposed subsidy would follow crude oil refined within Nigeria.
He also connected the policy to the broader challenge of reducing the economic pressures facing households and businesses, particularly those affected by high energy and transportation costs.
He said, “This is not an import subsidy. If you do not refine in Nigeria, you do not qualify. The subsidy follows the barrel refined in Nigeria.”
SOURCE: Liveonsky
