BYLINE KEMISOLA WILLIAMS
The House of Representatives has emphasized the need to put measures in place to protect children from harmful exposure to the internet.
The Chairman, House Committee on Justice, Olumide Osoba, gave the advice today while defending a Bill for an Act to Provide Enactment of Child Online Access Protection Bill, 2023 and other Issues of Online Violence against Children and other Related Matters.
Osoba noted that the safety of children should be utmost priority to the nation as online violence brings risk to vulnerable minds who have unfortunately given rise to various forms of violence like cyber bullying, harassment, exploitation and others.
He stressed that adopting the bill will not only safeguard children’s wellbeing but will also create a safer and more inclusive online space for all.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, enjoined parents to protect their children especially from online bullying.
Smuggling, reason for food scarcity in Nigeria – Agric minister
The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, has revealed that smuggling of food out of Nigeria to other neighboring countries contributed to low availability of food in the country.
The minister stated this today while addressing members of the House of Representatives during the sectoral debate on Agriculture and Food Security in Abuja.
Kyari, who noted that the federal government has put measures in place to address the current food scarcity in the country, said one of the measures is the approval for the distribution of 42,000 assorted grains across the country.
According to Kyari, the federal government has signed Memorandum Of Understanding with an American company to bring 10,000 tractors into the country in 5 years to assist farmers and the ECOWAS’ technical rotation of 5000 metric tonnes of assorted grains will be distributed across the country.
The minister said a Green Imperative of 1 billion dollar arrangement that will establish a one-stop shop service center in the 774 Local Government Areas is in place and other initiatives will provide 1000 centers across the nation.