================================================================================ NIGERIA FOOD, RESOURCE, AND COMMODITY ASSURANCE ACT Parliament of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Tenth National Assembly, 2026 Session Prepared by Imran Cooper, The Amanuensis May 2026 VERIFICATION NOTES: FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA FISCAL AND PROGRAMME FRAMEWORK (verified 2025-2026): - Federal Republic of Nigeria: population approximately 232 million (United Nations and World Bank estimates 2025; last national census was 2006; President Tinubu inaugurated the National Census Committee on 16 April 2025 to plan the upcoming census). Africa's most populous country. - 36 states + Federal Capital Territory (Abuja) + 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs) per Sections 7 and 297 of the Constitution. Six geopolitical zones (informal but operationally significant): South-South, South-East, South-West, North-Central, North-East, North-West. - Currency: Nigerian Naira (NGN, NGN). - Parliament of the Federal Republic of Nigeria: bicameral. Senate: 109 senators (3 per state plus 1 for FCT) per Section 48 of the Constitution. House of Representatives: 360 members per Section 49. Total 469 federal lawmakers. - Tenth National Assembly inaugurated 13 June 2023 by Presidential Proclamation under Section 64(3) of the Constitution. Senate President: Godswill Akpabio (All Progressives Congress, Akwa Ibom). Speaker of the House: Tajudeen Abbas (APC, Kaduna). - President of the Federal Republic: Bola Ahmed Tinubu (APC), sworn in 29 May 2023. Vice-President: Kashim Shettima. - Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended): came into force 29 May 1999 with the return to civilian rule (Fourth Republic). - Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning: Wale Edun (appointed August 2023; continued in 2024-2026). - Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment: per current Federal Executive Council list (verify at execution time). - 2026 Federal Budget: under preparation; the 2024 Budget's capital component received a second extension by the National Assembly in June 2025; the 2025 Federal Budget passed in early 2025 under the Tinubu administration's continuing post- petroleum-subsidy fiscal-reform programme. - Petroleum subsidy removal: declared by President Tinubu in his 29 May 2023 inaugural address ("Fuel subsidy is gone"), ending a four-decade practice of government control over petrol pump price (bbc.com/news/world-africa-65737846; premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/601239-fuel-subsidy-is-gone- tinubu-declares; energyinafrica.com/insights/petrol-price- nigerias-tinubus-subsidy March 2026). The Niger Delta workforce reskilling context flows from this fiscal-reform pivot. - Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS): revenue collection agency, established 2007 (FIRS Establishment Act, No. 13 of 2007). - Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN): central bank, established under the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, No. 7 of 2007; monetary policy independence under Section 1 of the CBN Act. NIGERIAN STATE FINANCING CHASSIS: - Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA): created by the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (Establishment, Etc.) Act, 2011. Manages three operational funds: the Stabilisation Fund (SF), the Future Generations Fund (FGF), and the Nigeria Infrastructure Fund (NIF). 2024 Federation contribution to NSIA: N247 billion, up from N21 billion in 2023 (an over 1,000 percent year-on-year increase). Sources: nsia.com.ng; mofi.com.ng/wp- content/uploads/2025/09/Nigeria-Sovereign-Investment-Authority- __-2024-AFS.pdf; nairametrics.com/2025/12/15/2025-in-review- nsia-expands-its-role-across-nigerias-economy; businessday.ng/ markets/article/nigeria-contributed-n247-billion-to-sovereign- wealth-fund-in-2024 (April 2025); nsia.com.ng/wp-content/ uploads/2025/12/NSIA-2025-Final-Entity-Rating-Report.pdf. - Bank of Industry Limited (BOI): per the BOI website, "Nigeria's oldest, largest, and most successful Development Finance Institution (DFI)." Mandate: "to facilitate the transformation of Nigeria's industrial sector by providing financial and advisory support for establishing large, medium, and small enterprises and expanding, diversifying, rehabilitating" industrial capacity. Successor to the Nigerian Industrial Development Bank, the Nigerian Bank for Commerce and Industry, and the National Economic Reconstruction Fund (consolidated in 2001). 2024 Annual Report published July 2025 (boi.ng/wp-content/ uploads/2025/07/2024-BOI-Annual-Report.pdf). - Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN): wholesale development finance institution established by the Federal Government in collaboration with global development partners (the African Development Bank, the World Bank Group, KfW, the French Agence Française de Développement). DBN finances eligible Participating Financial Institutions (PFIs) which on-lend to Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). Sources: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Development_Bank_of_Nigeria; devbankng. com/who-we-are; mofi.com.ng/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/ Development-Bank-of-Nigeria-__-2024-AFS.pdf. - Bank of Agriculture (BOA) (formerly Nigerian Agricultural and Cooperative Bank): Nigerian state agricultural finance institution; under restructuring and recapitalisation discussion in 2024-2025. NIGERIAN ENERGY-SECTOR CHASSIS: - Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN, formerly NEPA) unbundled into 18 successor companies under the Electric Power Sector Reform Act (EPSRA) 2005: six Generation Companies (GenCos), the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), and 11 Distribution Companies (DisCos). - Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN): the sole government- owned entity responsible for transmitting power across Nigeria; operates the high-voltage transmission network at 330 kV and 132 kV. Sources: elsantransformer.com.ng/the- transmission-company-of-nigeria-tcn-what-it-does-and-why-it- matters (March 2026); nairametrics.com/2025/02/28/these-are- the-entities-that-control-nigerias-power-sector-value-chain; mondaq.com/nigeria/renewables/1363558/the-electricity-act-2023. - Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC): the sector regulator established under EPSRA 2005 and now governed by the Electricity Act 2023. - Electricity Act 2023 + Constitutional Amendment Act 2023: the Electricity Act 2023 gives state governments express concurrent legislative authority over electricity within their territories; the Constitutional Amendment Act 2023 amended the Concurrent Legislative List of the Constitution to give effect to this concurrent state authority. This Act respects the new state-level electricity authority. - Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company plc (NBET): wholesale buyer; in 2024 NERC directed Distribution Companies to begin bilateral power-purchase contracts directly with GenCos for portions of the market (nairametrics.com/2024/08/13/concerns-mount-as-nerc-presses- discos-to-buy-power-directly-from-gencos). - Nigerian Independent System Operator (ISO): post-Electricity- Act-2023 entity; operates the grid under NERC direction; 2026 directives targeting DisCos issued by the ISO. - Rural Electrification Agency (REA): administers the Solar Power Naija Programme and the Nigeria Electrification Project (World Bank-supported); rural off-grid solar deployment. - Nigeria has no commercial nuclear plant currently operational. NIGERIAN PETROLEUM-SECTOR CHASSIS: - Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021: enacted by President Muhammadu Buhari; overhauled the regulatory and operational framework of the Nigerian oil and gas industry. Established the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA). - NNPC Limited: incorporated under the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) in September 2021 in furtherance of the PIA. Unveiled by President Buhari on 19 July 2022 as the new commercially-focused entity replacing the erstwhile Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation. Sources: thenigerialawyer.com/the-petroleum-industry-act-and-the- transition-of-nnpc-into-a-cama-company; omaplex.com.ng/a- comprehensive-analysis-of-the-commercialisation-of-nnpc; aluko-oyebode.com/insights/the-nigerian-national-petroleum- company-limited-privatising-the-nnpc; ijllr.com/post/from- state-monopoly-to-corporate-autonomy-ownership-restructuring- and-the-strategic-realignment-of. NIGERIAN DISTRIBUTION INFRASTRUCTURE: - National Identification Number (NIN): 11 non-intelligible digits randomly assigned by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) at enrolment into the National Identity Database (NIDB). The load-bearing Nigerian distribution- chassis identifier for this Programme. Source: nimc.gov.ng/nin. - National Identity Management Commission (NIMC): established under the National Identity Management Commission Act, 2007; administers NIN and the NIDB. - Bank Verification Number (BVN): 11-digit biometric ID assigned by Nigerian banks under Central Bank of Nigeria authority since 2014. - CBN directive 1 December 2023: all Nigerian bank accounts must have linked BVN and NIN. Sources: roundcheck.com.ng/ 2024/05/01/step-by-step-guide-to-link-your-bvn-and-nin-to- your-bank-accounts; nairametrics.com/2024/03/01/how-to-link- you-nin-bvn-to-your-account; facebook.com/PremiumTrustBank (August 2024). - National Cash Transfer Office (NCTO) under the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA): administers the Renewed Hope Conditional Cash Transfer (RH-CCT) programme of the Tinubu administration, targeting nine million households Nigeria-wide at N25,000 per household per cycle; initial disbursement of N10.28 billion to 411,292 households across the 36 states and the FCT documented (fmino.gov.ng/nsipa-fg- releases-over-n10billion-renewed-hope-conditional-cash- transfer-to-411292-households-across-36-states-and-fct; blueprint.ng/renewed-hope-cct-fg-releases-over-n10bn-to- 411292-households-nationwide; ncto.gov.ng; kunnengari.com/ 2024/10/20/nsipa-releases-over-n10-billion-to-411292- beneficiaries). - NSIPA also administers the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP), the National Social Safety-Nets Project, N-Power, and related programmes (consolidated under the Renewed Hope agenda). - Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST): federal postal service with nationwide branch presence in every LGA; under restructuring 2023-2026 but retains the universal-reach delivery footprint. NIGERIAN AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD CONTEXT: - Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (restructured 2023 from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to emphasise the food-security mandate): administers Nigerian agricultural policy and coordinates with the 36 state Ministries of Agriculture. - Bank of Agriculture (BOA): under the agricultural-finance mandate. - Federal Government Cassava-Bread Initiative, the Anchor Borrowers Programme (administered by CBN), the National Livestock Transformation Plan, the Green Imperative Programme. - Co-operative Societies Act: provides for the registration and operation of co-operative societies throughout the Federation. Source: lawnigeria.com/2025/03/26/nigerian-co- operative-societies-act. - Esusu (Yoruba), Ajo (Yoruba), Adashe (Hausa), Asusu (Igbo): Nigerian traditional rotating savings and credit associations (ROSCAs). Centuries-old indigenous West African cooperative tradition. Sources: blog.seen.ng/ajo-vs-esusu- vs-cooperative-thrift (Jan 2026); ajoapp.ng/thrift-system- in-nigeria-ajo-esusu-adashe-asusu; in-formality.com/wiki/ index.php?title=Esusu_(Nigeria). - Cooperative Thrift Societies: formal registered cooperative thrift and credit societies operating under the Co-operative Societies Act, with savings, dividends, and loan access. - Nigerian agricultural production base: cassava (Africa's largest producer), yam, maize, sorghum, millet, rice, beans, groundnut, palm oil, cocoa (one of the world's largest producers, in Cross River, Ondo, Ekiti, Osun), poultry, fish (coastal and inland fisheries). - Food banks and humanitarian-distribution partners: Food Bank Nigeria, the Nigerian Red Cross Society (NRCS), and faith-based distribution networks (the Christian Association of Nigeria social-services arms and the Jamatu Nasril Islam / JNI social-services arms). NIGERIAN CONSTITUTIONAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL ANCHORS: - Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (Act No. 24 of 1999), as amended; came into force 29 May 1999. Sources: justice.gov.za equivalents do not apply; the authoritative Nigerian sources are nigeriarights.gov.ng/ files/constitution.pdf; icnl.org/wp-content/uploads/ Nigeria_constitution2.pdf; constituteproject.org/ constitution/Nigeria_1999; lawglobalhub.com/section-14-of- the-1999-constitution-of-nigeria-updated; nigerian- constitution.com/chapter-2-section-14-the-government-and- the-people. - Chapter II (Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy, Sections 13 through 24): Section 13: It shall be the duty and responsibility of all organs of government to conform to, observe, and apply the provisions of Chapter II. Section 14: The Federal Republic of Nigeria shall be a State based on the principles of democracy and social justice. (1) Sovereignty belongs to the people of Nigeria. (2)(b) THE SECURITY AND WELFARE OF THE PEOPLE SHALL BE THE PRIMARY PURPOSE OF GOVERNMENT. (KEY CONSTITUTIONAL ANCHOR for this Act.) Section 15: Political Objectives. Section 16: Economic Objectives. The State shall harness the resources of the nation and promote national prosperity and an efficient, dynamic, and self-reliant economy. The State shall control the national economy in such manner as to secure the maximum welfare, freedom, and happiness of every citizen on the basis of social justice and equality of status and opportunity. Section 17: Social Objectives. The State social order is founded on ideals of Freedom, Equality, and Justice. Every citizen shall have equality of rights, obligations, and opportunities before the law; the dignity of the human person shall be maintained and enhanced. Section 18: Educational Objectives. - Independence Day, 1 October 1960: Nigeria attained independence from the United Kingdom; the Union Jack was lowered in Lagos at midnight; the green-white-green flag was raised. Sources: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence_Day_ (Nigeria); britannica.com/place/Nigeria/Independent-Nigeria; thehistoryville.com/nigeria-independence. - 1 October 1963: Nigeria became a Republic. - 29 May 1999: return to civilian rule (Fourth Republic); inauguration of President Olusegun Obasanjo. - 12 June 1993: Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola won the presidential election widely regarded as the freest in Nigerian history; the result was annulled by the military regime; Abiola died in detention 1998. - 6 June 2018: President Muhammadu Buhari moved Democracy Day from 29 May to 12 June by Executive Order, formally recognising MKO Abiola's annulled June 12 1993 victory. Democracy Day is now observed annually on 12 June. - 1914 Amalgamation: the colonial amalgamation of the Northern and Southern Protectorates under Lord Lugard. - Omoluabi (Yoruba): cultural ideal of integrity, character, and communal responsibility; the Yoruba counterpart to the Ubuntu philosophical concept. - Imeobi / Onye-aghana-nwanne-ya (Igbo): cultural concept of "the brotherhood that does not leave the brother behind"; the Igbo counterpart. - Mutunci (Hausa): cultural concept of human dignity and personhood; the Hausa counterpart. - National Anthem: "Nigeria We Hail Thee" (originally adopted at independence 1960; re-adopted in May 2024 by the Tinubu administration, replacing "Arise O Compatriots" which had served from 1978 to 2024). - National motto: "Unity and Faith, Peace and Progress." - Nigerian Armed Forces (Nigerian Army + Nigerian Navy + Nigerian Air Force): under the Minister of Defence and the Chief of Defence Staff; strategic-reserve coordination partner. UNIVERSAL FOUNDATIONAL CITATIONS FROM HISTORICAL APOPLEXY (Cooper, Historical Apoplexy 2025-2026, Papers I and VI): These citations are common to every adaptation in the Historical Apoplexy AD legislative compendium. They establish the diagnostic foundation that the per-jurisdiction operational provisions resolve. (A) SELF-REPLICATION / REPLICATION THRESHOLD: Casey Handmer's replication-threshold canon (the 7-blog-post series at caseyhandmer.wordpress.com Q4 2024 through Q1 2025). Self-replicating humanoid robotic manufacturing technology arrived at sub-USD-30,000 unit cost during the Q4 2025 through Q2 2026 inflection window: Unitree R1 at approximately USD 5,900, Unitree G1 at approximately USD 13,500-17,500, Apptronik Apollo at USD 5 billion valuation, Agility Robotics Digit at USD 20,000-25,000 per-year Robotics-as-a-Service contract. Foundation-model robotic intelligence (NVIDIA GR00T, Physical Intelligence pi-0, Boston Dynamics Atlas, Tesla Optimus, Figure 02). On the energy side, Commonwealth Fusion Systems' ARC plant filed Virginia grid-connection application for 400 MW in April 2026; CFS SPARC demo target 2027; Helion 50 MW Microsoft power purchase agreement 2028. The replication threshold is the hinge in the math: once self-replicating robotics passes a threshold of cost and reliability, the arithmetic of abundance inverts. (B) ABUNDANCE ARITHMETIC: USD 32 billion ends domestic hunger in the United States; USD 496 billion is the annual U.S. food-industry markup over production cost (a 15-times ratio per USDA Food Dollar Series). 293,000 U.S. manufacturing facilities at 77 percent utilization yielding 19.5-29.3-times overcapacity. Albrecht Penck's 1925 calculation of Earth's carrying capacity at 16 billion people. The U.S. military commissary has operated at-cost since 1867 (10 USC Section 2484; Defense Commissary Agency 2024 annual report). Translated to Nigerian population scale (approximately 232 million per UN and World Bank 2025 estimates, Africa's most populous country), the equivalent productive-capacity ratios apply at greater absolute scale. (C) STRESS HARM TO HUMANS: the Marmot quartet (Sir Michael Marmot's Whitehall I and II studies, University College London, 1967-present; Robert Sapolsky's Serengeti baboon cohort studies on social-hierarchy stress and glucocorticoid pathology, 1978-present; Carol Shively's cynomolgus-macaque social-stratification studies on cingulate-cortex serotonin pathology, Wake Forest University, 1980s-present; Elizabeth Blackburn's Nobel Prize-winning telomere research on chronic-stress cellular-damage mechanisms, 2009 Nobel Prize). Four research programmes, six decades, three species: the gap is the gradient, not the deprivation. Hierarchy itself kills. Nigerian regional, ethnic, and rural-urban gradients translate into the Marmot pathway at population scale, with documented disparities between the Lagos and Abuja metropolitan complexes and the North-East / North- West rural areas affected by the post-2009 insurgency context. (D) COMPETENCY COLLAPSE: PIAAC 2023 (OECD Survey of Adult Skills, December 2024 release): 28 percent of U.S. adults at the lowest literacy level (up from 19 percent in 2017); 34 percent at the lowest numeracy level; 32 percent at the lowest adaptive problem-solving level. Adult-skills outcomes declining or stagnating in 19 of 26 OECD countries between 2017 and 2023. Nigeria is not a PIAAC participant; the equivalent Nigerian evidence comes from the National Bureau of Statistics literacy surveys, the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) reports, and the National Population Commission school- attendance returns. (E) HISTORICAL PRECEDENT FOR AT-COST CIVIC ASSURANCE: the U.S. military commissary running at-cost since 1867 (158 years of operational evidence). The Roman annona civica under Augustus from 30 BC (Suetonius's record; "Even Augustus, who would have a man killed for taking notes in the wrong room, understood that hungry citizens are broken infrastructure."). Nerva's alimenta programme (98-117 AD) documented in the Tabula Alimentaria Veleia (CIL XI 1147), the bronze inscription still extant at the Parma Museum. Three-record convergence: 158 years of commissary operational evidence + 400 years of annona archaeological evidence + Penck's 1925 carrying-capacity calculation. (F) AUTOMATION-DISPLACEMENT CONTEXT: Aurora Innovation driverless freight is operational on the Dallas-Houston corridor as of 2024-2025. Retail-sector employment is contracting under e-commerce restructuring. This Act does not eliminate jobs; the autonomous-freight rollout and the retail restructuring eliminate jobs. This Act establishes the structural floor that catches workers when those job losses occur. The commissary precedent has truckers; at-cost distribution does not eliminate distribution labour, it eliminates the profit-markup on top of distribution labour. (G) ECONOMIC CHARACTER OF THIS ACT: this Act is not state ownership of the means of production. The Programme administered by this Act contracts with private producers and distributors for Nigerian-grown agricultural output and Nigerian-manufactured commodity supply. Farms stay private. Nigerian transport and logistics stay private. Nigerian processing stays private. The Programme operates the retail point at production cost plus a reasonable distribution allowance. The existing commercial retail market continues to operate unaffected. The U.S. Defense Commissary Agency has operated this model since 1867 by contracting with private suppliers. The Nigerian private market for premium, luxury, custom, and specialty goods continues without restriction. EXPLICITLY NOT CITED: South African PIC / IDC / DBSA / Land Bank, Estonian KredEx, Latvian Altum, Lithuanian ILTE, Polish Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego, Indonesian Danantara, Indian NIIF (distinct from Nigerian NSIA), Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global, French Caisse des Depots et Consignations, German KfW, or any non-Nigerian sovereign-asset or development-bank chassis as a chartering model for this Act. NSIA + BOI + DBN + BOA + NNPC Limited + TCN + GenCos + DisCos + NERC + ISO + NBET + REA + NCTO + NSIPA + NIPOST + 11-digit NIN + NIMC + BVN + CBN + FIRS + the Co-operative Societies Act + esusu / ajo / adashe + the Nigerian Armed Forces + the 36 States + FCT + 774 LGAs are sufficient as the Nigerian institutional stack per the per-jurisdiction-indigenous doctrine. UNVERIFIED (flag for final-pass verification before public distribution): - Final 2026 Federal Budget headline figures (refresh against the Appropriation Act once assented) - Current NSIA AUM (the N247 billion 2024 contribution figure is verified; total fund AUM refresh required) - Current Renewed Hope CCT cumulative disbursement and beneficiary count (the 411,292 households / N10.28 billion figure is verified; refresh against latest NCTO release) - Current Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment + Minister of Petroleum Resources (Federal Executive Council refresh) - 2026 Census timeline post-Tinubu April 2025 National Census Committee inauguration ================================================================================ PARLIAMENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA Tenth National Assembly / 2026 Session ================================================================================ DRAFT BILL INTRODUCED BY ________ (Member of the National Assembly) CONCERNING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE NIGERIA FOOD, RESOURCE, AND COMMODITY ASSURANCE PROGRAMME A BILL FOR AN ACT ================================================================================ LONG TITLE ================================================================================ AN ACT OF THE PARLIAMENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA concerning the establishment of the Nigeria Food, Resource, and Commodity Assurance Programme; the establishment of Nigerian Food Assurance Centres (NFAC) in every state and the Federal Capital Territory, and in every Local Government Area, on a phased rollout commencing on the effective date of this Act; the conferral of an at-cost basic-needs commodity entitlement on every citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria ordinarily resident in the Federation, identified by the 11-digit National Identification Number (NIN) issued by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), enrolled through the existing National Cash Transfer Office (NCTO) under the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA) and the Renewed Hope Conditional Cash Transfer infrastructure; coordination with the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), the Bank of Industry (BOI), the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN), and the Bank of Agriculture (BOA) for capital investment and credit guarantees; coordination with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, the 36 state Ministries of Agriculture, and the Nigerian agricultural cooperative sector under the Co- operative Societies Act; coordination with NIPOST and the esusu / ajo / adashe rotating savings and credit associations for community-scale at-cost distribution; coordination with Food Bank Nigeria, the Nigerian Red Cross Society (NRCS), and the faith-based distribution networks of the Christian Association of Nigeria and Jamatu Nasril Islam (JNI) for delivery partnership; consistency with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), particularly Section 14(2)(b) (the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government), Section 16 (economic objectives), Section 17 (social objectives), and Section 18 (educational objectives) of Chapter II, and Section 224 of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act on CBN monetary policy independence; consistency with the philosophical heritage of the Independence Declaration of 1 October 1960, Democracy Day of 12 June 1993 / 12 June 2018 statutory reframing, the 1914 Amalgamation, the 1999 return to civilian rule, and the tri-cultural Omoluabi (Yoruba) + Imeobi (Igbo) + Mutunci (Hausa) human-dignity tradition; explicit declination to establish any new Nigerian personal income tax, companies income tax, value-added tax, petroleum profits tax, customs duty, excise duty, or other Nigerian tax of any kind for the funding of the Programme; and provision for connected purposes. ================================================================================ LEGISLATIVE ROUTING NOTE ================================================================================ This Draft Bill is for introduction in the National Assembly of the Federal Republic of Nigeria during the Tenth National Assembly, 2026 Session, under the legislative-initiative provisions of Section 58 of the Constitution. The Bill is processed through both the House of Representatives and the Senate per the Constitution's bicameral requirement. Suggested committee referrals following First Reading: - Senate Committee on Finance + House Committee on Finance: lead for fiscal provisions and NSIA + BOI + DBN + BOA coordination - Senate Committee on Industry + House Committee on Industry: for the productive-capacity and BOI coordination provisions - Senate Committee on Agriculture + House Committee on Agricultural Production and Services: for the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, BOA, and cooperative-sector coordination provisions - Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions + House Committee on Banking and Currency: for the CBN, BVN-NIN linkage, and Renewed Hope CCT distribution provisions - Senate Committee on Special Duties + House Committee on Special Duties: for the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA) and NCTO coordination - Senate Committee on FCT + House Committee on FCT: for the FCT-specific provisions and Abuja metropolitan rollout - Senate Committee on Cooperation and Integration in Africa + House Committee on Cooperation and Integration in Africa: for the regional cooperation provisions (ECOWAS context coordination if invoked) - Senate Committee on National Security and Intelligence + House Committee on Defence: for the Nigerian Armed Forces strategic-reserve coordination - Senate Committee on Health + House Committee on Health Care Services: for the public-health coordination provisions Following passage by both Chambers and harmonisation under the Conference Committee mechanism, the Bill is presented to the President for assent under Section 58 of the Constitution and publication in the Federal Government Gazette. ================================================================================ DIVISION I - FOOD ASSURANCE ================================================================================ ARTICLE 1. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE NIGERIA FOOD, RESOURCE, AND COMMODITY ASSURANCE PROGRAMME. (1) There is hereby established the Nigeria Food, Resource, and Commodity Assurance Programme ("the Programme"), administered by the Minister of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs (coordinating with the National Social Investment Programme Agency / NSIPA) in coordination with the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, the Minister of Health, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, the 36 state Governors and their respective Executive Councils, and the 774 Local Government Area Chairmen. (2) The Programme shall operate Nigerian Food Assurance Centres ("NFAC") in every state and the Federal Capital Territory, and in every Local Government Area, on a phased rollout under Title VII below, with priority deployment in: (a) the highest-food-insecurity Local Government Areas in the six geopolitical zones, including the North- East (Borno, Yobe, Adamawa) and the North-West (Zamfara, Sokoto, Kebbi, Katsina) where the post-2009 insurgency context has produced sustained acute food insecurity; (b) the Niger Delta states (Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo, Rivers) under the post-petroleum-subsidy-removal workforce-reskilling priority; (c) the major metropolitan agglomerations of Lagos State (the Lagos Mainland and Lagos Island, including the Makoko, Ajegunle, Mushin, Oshodi-Isolo, and Agege catchment areas), Kano State (Kano metropolitan), the Federal Capital Territory (Abuja Municipal Area Council and the satellite settlements), Rivers State (Port Harcourt), Oyo State (Ibadan), and Kaduna State (Kaduna metropolitan). ARTICLE 2. ENTITLEMENT TO PARTICIPATE. (1) Every citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria ordinarily resident in the Federation, identified by the 11-digit National Identification Number (NIN) issued by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), is automatically entitled to participate in the Programme. (2) Foreign nationals lawfully resident in Nigeria who hold a Nigerian residence permit and an associated identifier issued by the Nigeria Immigration Service, including holders of ECOWAS protocol residence and refugees documented under the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), are likewise entitled. (3) Participation is voluntary. No citizen or lawful resident is required to obtain goods through the Programme; the existing commercial retail market continues to operate unaffected. ARTICLE 3. PROGRAMME GOODS AND AT-COST PRICING. (1) NFAC outlets shall offer for distribution at production cost plus reasonable distribution allowance: (a) Staple foods (rice, garri, fufu, maize, sorghum, millet, yam, cassava, plantain, beans, groundnut, cooking oils including palm oil and groundnut oil, sugar, salt, tea, coffee, consistent with Nigerian dietary tradition across the six geopolitical zones and the major ethno-cultural groupings); (b) Protein sources (beef, chicken, goat meat, eggs, fish from Nigerian coastal and inland fisheries, suya / kilishi cured meats per regional tradition, dairy products including fura da nono, soybean products, locust-bean / iru / dawadawa); (c) Vegetables and fruits sourced where possible from Nigerian producers including okra, tomatoes, onions, peppers, leafy greens (ugu / efo / ewedu), citrus, mangoes, pineapples, plantains, cocoa products (Nigeria is one of the world's largest cocoa producers, in Cross River, Ondo, Ekiti, Osun, Ogun); (d) Basic clothing including school uniforms aligned with state-curriculum requirements, weather-appropriate clothing for the Nigerian climate (the harmattan season in the North and the rainy / humid season in the South), and footwear; (e) Hand tools, household goods, basic kitchen and cleaning supplies, and water-storage containers (the water-storage provision recognises the recurring municipal water-supply interruptions documented across many Nigerian states); (f) Educational supplies for learners through the developmental window extended to age 25 under the broader Compendium proposal; (g) Basic baby and child supplies; (h) Emergency-preparedness supplies (water, non- perishable food, basic lighting, candles, kerosene or LPG cookers where applicable, prepaid mobile- network data vouchers) given the recurring power- supply-interruption context and the seasonal flooding context across the Niger and Benue River basins. (2) Pricing shall be calculated on the at-cost basis. The DeCA (Defense Commissary Agency) precedent has operated this model in the United States since 1867 by contracting with private suppliers under 10 USC Section 2484 (verified in Universal Foundational Citation E above). The Programme inherits that operational discipline: contract with Nigerian private producers, operate the retail point at cost plus a reasonable distribution allowance, leave the commercial market untouched. ARTICLE 4. COORDINATION WITH AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVES, THE FEDERAL MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FOOD SECURITY, AND THE BANK OF AGRICULTURE. (1) The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, in coordination with the 36 state Ministries of Agriculture, the Bank of Agriculture (BOA), and the Nigerian agricultural cooperative sector registered under the Co-operative Societies Act, is directed to enter partnership agreements with Nigerian agricultural cooperatives for the supply of Nigerian-grown agricultural commodities to the Programme. (2) The partnership shall preserve cooperative autonomy and membership governance per the Co-operative Societies Act, and shall coordinate with the Anchor Borrowers Programme (administered by the Central Bank of Nigeria), the National Livestock Transformation Plan, the Green Imperative Programme, and the federal-state agricultural extension services. (3) The indigenous Nigerian cooperative tradition (esusu / ajo / adashe / asusu rotating savings and credit associations together with the formal Cooperative Thrift Societies registered under the Co-operative Societies Act) is recognised as a Nigerian institutional resource and is expressly preserved by this Act. (4) Partnership agreements shall maintain the established cooperative principles articulated in the Co-operative Societies Act, including voluntary and open membership, democratic member control, member economic participation, autonomy and independence, education and information, cooperation among cooperatives, and concern for community. ARTICLE 5. DELIVERY PARTNERSHIP WITH FOOD BANK NIGERIA, THE NIGERIAN RED CROSS SOCIETY, AND THE FAITH-BASED DISTRIBUTION NETWORKS. (1) The Programme is authorised to enter delivery-partnership agreements with Food Bank Nigeria, the Nigerian Red Cross Society (NRCS), the Christian Association of Nigeria social-services arms, the Jamatu Nasril Islam (JNI) social-services arms, and other accredited humanitarian organisations for last-mile distribution at the LGA and ward level. (2) Partnership agreements shall preserve the independent governance of those organisations and shall not transfer Programme commodities for any purpose other than the at-cost distribution mandate of this Act. (3) Existing food-aid and feeding programmes administered by Food Bank Nigeria, the NRCS, the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP) under NSIPA, and other accredited humanitarian organisations are preserved and may be coordinated with, but are not displaced by, this Act. ================================================================================ DIVISION II - PUBLIC HEALTH PROMOTION (Marmot quartet structural rationale) ================================================================================ ARTICLE 6. STRUCTURAL RATIONALE - HIERARCHY ITSELF KILLS. (1) The Parliament finds, on the basis of Universal Foundational Citation C (Marmot quartet), that the structural mechanism of hierarchy-related mortality and morbidity operates through the chronic-stress physiological pathway documented across the Whitehall studies, the Sapolsky Serengeti baboon cohort, the Shively cynomolgus-macaque cingulate-cortex serotonin work, and the Blackburn Nobel-Prize-winning telomere research. The gap is the gradient, not the deprivation. Treating sickness downstream of an untreated gradient is documented to fail across four research programmes, six decades, and three species. Hierarchy itself kills. (2) Nigerian regional, ethnic, and rural-urban stratification gradients (the Lagos and Abuja metropolitan complexes on one hand and the North-East / North-West rural areas most affected by the post-2009 insurgency context on the other) translate directly into the Marmot pathway at population scale. This Act addresses the gradient at the basic-needs layer at which the Marmot quartet finds most aggressive health-pathway damage. ARTICLE 7. PUBLIC HEALTH COORDINATION. (1) The Programme operates in coordination with the Minister of Health, the Federal Ministry of Health, the 36 state Ministries of Health, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), and the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA, established under the National Health Insurance Authority Act, 2022) to monitor and to contribute to the reduction of basic-needs food insecurity and stress-mediated public-health conditions across all six geopolitical zones. (2) The Minister of Health shall report annually to the National Assembly on the relationship between NFAC access at the LGA level and Nigerian population health indicators, consistent with Section 14(2)(b) of the Constitution (the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government) and the Section 17 social-objectives directive. (3) Coordination shall include the rollout of the National Health Insurance Authority framework where the Programme's basic-needs distribution intersects with NHIA primary-care service delivery at the LGA level. ================================================================================ DIVISION III - EDUCATION MODERNISATION ================================================================================ ARTICLE 8. EDUCATION PIPELINE AND THE EXTENDED DEVELOPMENTAL WINDOW. (1) The Nigerian education system is acknowledged by this Act as a foundation for the developmental pipeline proposed by the Vitruvian Quotient framework (Cooper, 2026). The existing Universal Basic Education (UBE, primary and junior-secondary) administered through the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), the Senior Secondary Education administered by state Ministries of Education, and the tertiary education administered by the National Universities Commission (NUC), the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), and the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), form the chassis on which the extension of the developmental window to age 25 is proposed under the broader Compendium. (2) Universal Foundational Citation D (PIAAC 2023) documents the international competency-collapse pattern. Nigeria is not a PIAAC participant; the equivalent Nigerian evidence comes from the National Bureau of Statistics literacy surveys, the UBEC reports, and the National Population Commission school-attendance returns. The pattern documented internationally is consistent with the Nigerian evidence: a competency collapse at the bottom of the regional and rural-urban gradient that the Marmot quartet shows is itself a health pathway. (3) The Minister of Education and the Minister of State for Education are directed to prepare a joint report to the National Assembly within twenty-four months of the effective date of this Act on the operational steps required to extend developmental and competency- maintenance arrangements beyond the current post-school structure, in coordination with the University of Ibadan (founded 1948, the oldest university in Nigeria), the University of Lagos, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, the University of Nigeria Nsukka, the Obafemi Awolowo University, the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), the National Mathematical Centre, the African University of Science and Technology Abuja, the Nigeria Defence Academy Kaduna, and the West African Examinations Council (WAEC). (4) The Vitruvian Quotient framework (Cooper, 2026) is recognised by this Act as the conceptual instrument for the developmental pipeline. Detailed implementation of a Nigeria Education Modernisation Act is the subject of a separate Bill. ================================================================================ DIVISION IV - FUNDING ================================================================================ ARTICLE 9. INITIAL APPROPRIATION. (1) For the financial year 2027 there is appropriated from the Federation Account through the Annual Appropriation Act the sum of N250 billion for the establishment of the Programme and the initial operation of NFAC outlets, scaled to the Nigerian population of approximately 232 million. (2) Subsequent annual appropriations shall be made in the ordinary annual Appropriation Act. ARTICLE 10. COORDINATION WITH THE NIGERIA SOVEREIGN INVESTMENT AUTHORITY, THE BANK OF INDUSTRY, THE DEVELOPMENT BANK OF NIGERIA, AND THE BANK OF AGRICULTURE. (1) NFAC infrastructure capital investment may, by agreement between the Programme and the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), be co-financed through the Nigeria Infrastructure Fund (NIF) of the NSIA, up to a cumulative outstanding principal of N500 billion. (2) Programme manufacturing and processing capacity development may, by agreement between the Programme and the Bank of Industry (BOI), be co-financed through BOI industrial-finance instruments, up to a cumulative outstanding principal of N300 billion. (3) Programme MSME-supply-chain coordination may, by agreement between the Programme and the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN), be co-financed through DBN wholesale facilities to Participating Financial Institutions, up to a cumulative outstanding principal of N200 billion. (4) Programme agricultural-supply-chain coordination may, by agreement between the Programme and the Bank of Agriculture (BOA), be co-financed through BOA agricultural-finance instruments, up to a cumulative outstanding principal of N150 billion. (5) The NSIA's role under the 2011 NSIA Act, the BOI's role as the longest-serving Nigerian Development Finance Institution, the DBN's wholesale-PFI model, and the BOA's agricultural-finance mandate make them the natural Nigerian indigenous coordination partners for Programme capital investment. This Act does not direct, instruct, or constrain any NSIA, BOI, DBN, or BOA financing decision; coordination under this Article is by agreement only. (6) For Programme functions exceeding the existing NSIA, BOI, DBN, and BOA mandates, the Programme may operate under the sibling Nigeria Productive Capacity Authority and Energy Security Act. ARTICLE 11. COORDINATION WITH THE RENEWED HOPE CONDITIONAL CASH TRANSFER AND THE FEDERATION ACCOUNT. (1) NFAC infrastructure capital investment may, by agreement between the Programme and the National Treasury Office, be coordinated with the Renewed Hope Conditional Cash Transfer (RH-CCT) programme of NSIPA / NCTO and with the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP) where the Programme's basic-needs distribution complements those programmes' cash and feeding-support distributions. (2) Programme coordination with state and LGA fiscal frameworks shall operate within the existing intergovernmental fiscal architecture administered through the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) and the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC). (3) The Programme does not displace any existing Renewed Hope CCT, NHGSFP, Anchor Borrowers Programme, Green Imperative Programme, or other federal social-protection or agricultural-development programme. ================================================================================ DIVISION V - GENERAL PROVISIONS ================================================================================ ARTICLE 12. NO NEW TAXATION. (1) The Parliament declares that no new Nigerian personal income tax, companies income tax, value-added tax, petroleum profits tax, fuel levy, excise duty, customs duty, or other Nigerian tax of any kind is established, extended, or increased by this Act for the funding of the Programme. (2) The Programme is funded through existing Nigerian fiscal infrastructure as enumerated in Division IV, consistent with the constitutional fiscal framework in Chapter VI of the Constitution and the Public Finance framework administered by the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning. ARTICLE 13. EXISTING NIGERIAN INSTITUTIONS UNAFFECTED. This Act does not affect the establishment, functions, governance, or operation of: (a) The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the monetary policy independence guaranteed under the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, No. 7 of 2007; (b) The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), the Bank of Industry (BOI), the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN), and the Bank of Agriculture (BOA), beyond the coordination expressly authorised by Article 10; (c) NNPC Limited (incorporated under CAMA in furtherance of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021), the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), and other petroleum-sector state-owned or state-controlled enterprises; (d) The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), the Generation Companies (GenCos), the Distribution Companies (DisCos), the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company (NBET), the Nigerian Independent System Operator (ISO), the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), and other power-sector state-owned or state- controlled enterprises, beyond the coordination expressly authorised by the sibling Nigeria Productive Capacity Authority and Energy Security Act; (e) The National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA), the National Cash Transfer Office (NCTO), the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the National Population Commission, the National Identity Database (NIDB), and other state agencies, beyond the coordination expressly authorised by this Act; (f) The Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST), beyond the co-delivery coordination authorised by this Act; (g) The Renewed Hope Conditional Cash Transfer (RH-CCT), the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP), the Anchor Borrowers Programme, the Green Imperative Programme, and other federal social- protection or agricultural-development programmes, beyond the coordination expressly authorised by Article 11; (h) Nigerian agricultural cooperatives, consumer cooperatives, Cooperative Thrift Societies, esusu / ajo / adashe rotating savings and credit associations, and the indigenous Nigerian cooperative tradition generally, beyond the partnership coordination authorised by Article 4; (i) Food Bank Nigeria, the Nigerian Red Cross Society (NRCS), the Christian Association of Nigeria social- services arms, the Jamatu Nasril Islam (JNI) social- services arms, and other accredited humanitarian organisations, beyond the delivery partnership authorised by Article 5; (j) The National Assembly (Senate and House of Representatives), the President of the Federal Republic, the Federal Executive Council, the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, the Federal Judicial Service Commission, the National Human Rights Commission, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Code of Conduct Bureau, the Public Complaints Commission, and every other Federal Government institution established by the Constitution. ARTICLE 14. CONSTITUTIONAL CONSISTENCY. (1) This Act is enacted consistent with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), particularly Section 14(2)(b) (the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government), Section 16 (economic objectives), Section 17 (social objectives), Section 18 (educational objectives), Chapter II (Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy), Chapter VI (Executive), and Chapter VIII (Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, and General Supplementary Provisions). (2) The Parliament records its understanding that Section 14(2)(b)'s declaration that the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government, read together with Section 16's economic-objectives directive that the State shall control the national economy to secure the maximum welfare, freedom, and happiness of every citizen on the basis of social justice and equality of status and opportunity, supports the legislative measure adopted by this Act. ARTICLE 15. EFFECTIVE DATE. (1) This Act takes effect on 1 April 2027, except that Article 9 (Initial Appropriation) takes effect on the date this Act is assented to and published in the Federal Government Gazette, and Article 1 (Establishment) takes effect ninety days after publication. (2) The President is requested, and the Minister of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs in concurrence with the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA), is directed, to issue implementing regulations within 120 days of publication. (3) Initial Programme distribution is targeted for 1 October 2027, being Independence Day, the anniversary of the Federal Republic of Nigeria's attainment of independence from the United Kingdom on 1 October 1960. ARTICLE 16. INTERPRETATION. In this Act - "the Programme" means the Nigeria Food, Resource, and Commodity Assurance Programme established under Article 1; "a NFAC outlet" means a Nigerian Food Assurance Centre established under Article 1; "the 11-digit National Identification Number" or "NIN" means the personal identification number issued by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) under the National Identity Management Commission Act, 2007; "NSIA" means the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority established under the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (Establishment, Etc.) Act, 2011; "BOI" means the Bank of Industry Limited; "DBN" means the Development Bank of Nigeria; "BOA" means the Bank of Agriculture; "NNPC Limited" means the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited incorporated under the Companies and Allied Matters Act in furtherance of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021; "TCN" means the Transmission Company of Nigeria; "NERC" means the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission; "the Electricity Act 2023" means the Electricity Act, 2023 (replacing the Electric Power Sector Reform Act 2005); "NSIPA" means the National Social Investment Programme Agency; "NCTO" means the National Cash Transfer Office; "the Renewed Hope CCT" or "RH-CCT" means the Renewed Hope Conditional Cash Transfer programme administered by NCTO under NSIPA; "NIMC" means the National Identity Management Commission; "BVN" means the Bank Verification Number issued by Nigerian banks under Central Bank of Nigeria authority; "the Co-operative Societies Act" means the Nigerian Co- operative Societies Act providing for the registration and operation of co-operative societies throughout the Federation; "esusu", "ajo", "adashe", and "asusu" mean the Nigerian indigenous rotating savings and credit associations of the Yoruba, Yoruba, Hausa, and Igbo cultural traditions respectively; "the Marmot quartet" means the four research programmes identified in Universal Foundational Citation C above (Marmot Whitehall, Sapolsky Serengeti baboons, Shively cynomolgus macaques, Blackburn telomere research); "the replication threshold" means the Casey Handmer formulation identified in Universal Foundational Citation A above; "the Renewed Hope agenda" means the policy agenda of the Tinubu administration following the inauguration of 29 May 2023; "Omoluabi" means the Yoruba cultural ideal of integrity, character, and communal responsibility; "Imeobi" means the Igbo cultural ideal of brotherhood and communal solidarity; "Mutunci" means the Hausa cultural ideal of human dignity and personhood; "ordinarily resident" has the meaning given by the National Identity Management Commission Act, 2007, and Nigerian immigration law. ================================================================================ - END - ================================================================================