Dieticians Write Senate Over Controversial Bill

James Sowole in Akure

The Institute for Dietetics in Nigeria (IDN) has written a petition to the Senate President requesting the National Assembly to halt the passage of the bill titled “Dieticians Council Of Nigeria Bill 2016” into law.

The institute’s prayer was contained in a petition signed by the IDN Secretary, Tajudeen Olutope, and copied the Clerk of the Senate, the Upper Chamber Legal Department and a Member of the House of Representatives from Oyo State, Hon. Odebunmi Dokun and the Chairman House of Representatives Committee on Health.

The controversial bill, according to the petitioner, had already passed through the First and Second Readings at the House of Representatives, saying only the Senate can stop it from becoming a law.

The IDN said while having a law that would regulate the practice of dietetics in Nigeria had been its top priority over the years, the current situation whereby a faction of the professionals in the field would be the ones championing the move for selfish reason is worrisome.

“We discovered that the proponent of the controversial bill was a breakaway faction of Dieticians from our professional body formerly known as Nigeria Dietetics Association of Nigeria (NDA) which metamophosed into IDN and to which all members subscribed to.

“NDA as an association of Dieticians is restricted to a section in Nigeria. It is not a national association and it is not the national umbrella of the dieticians in Nigeria.

“At the moment, dieticians from the entire Northern Nigeria and the other remaining two zones are in the main IDN, including some Igbo speaking ones that do not share the ideology of the DAN and its leadership”, the petition said.

Further details later