The Institute for Dietetics in Nigeria (IDN) has urged the National Assembly to discontinue consideration of HB 2659, warning that the proposed Nutritionists Registration Council of Nigeria could create overlapping regulatory authorities, undermine professional standards and expose Nigerians to unqualified practitioners.

Speaking to journalists in Abuja, IDN President, Tajudeen Ahmed, called on lawmakers to prioritise the Dietitians Council of Nigeria (Establishment) Bill, 2022, and urged the Federal Government to support a unified regulatory framework for nutrition and dietetic practice.

Ahmed argued that HB 2659, promoted with the support of the Nutrition Society of Nigeria (NSN), could establish a parallel regulatory body with overlapping responsibilities for professional education, accreditation, registration, clinical practice and disciplinary procedures.

He warned that competing councils could trigger institutional conflicts, duplicate regulatory costs and create uncertainty for practitioners, educational institutions, employers and patients.

Ahmed said the issue was not opposition to regulating nutrition professionals but the need for clear professional qualifications, defined scopes of practice and safeguards to protect patients.

He explained that qualified dietitians and nutritionists-dietitians are trained to conduct nutritional assessments, provide medical nutrition therapy and manage patients with conditions such as diabetes, kidney disease, cancer and severe malnutrition. Their duties may also include prescribing therapeutic diets and participating in enteral and parenteral nutrition management.

He cautioned that inadequate training or the improper assignment of clinical responsibilities could lead to serious complications, disability or death. Practitioners undertaking such duties, he said, must possess the required academic qualifications, supervised clinical training, internship experience and professional competence.

The IDN president also distinguished between contributions to nutrition science and the qualifications required for clinical practice.

He noted that the NSN accommodates professionals from disciplines including biochemistry, agriculture, food science, physiology, medicine, pharmacy and public health. While acknowledging their contributions to nutrition research, food security and policy development, he argued that membership of a scientific society should not automatically qualify individuals to provide clinical nutrition and dietetic services.

Ahmed urged lawmakers to ensure that legislation clearly defines protected professional titles, minimum entry qualifications and clinical functions reserved for appropriately trained and registered practitioners.

He also warned that separate councils could complicate the regulation of academic programmes, particularly as many Nigerian universities, polytechnics and colleges of health sciences and technology offer integrated Nutrition and Dietetics programmes.

Overlapping regulatory responsibilities could result in conflicting accreditation requirements, repeated assessments, additional fees and uncertainty over graduates’ professional status. Employers and healthcare institutions could also face difficulties determining which qualifications authorise practitioners to perform specific clinical functions, he said.

According to Ahmed, the Dietitians Council of Nigeria bill already provides for professional education, registration, ethical standards, public health nutrition, community practice, research, policy collaboration and clinical dietetic services.

He urged the House of Representatives to discontinue consideration of HB 2659 in its present form and called on the Federal Government and National Assembly to conclude the legislative process for the Dietitians Council of Nigeria (Establishment) Bill, 2022, and facilitate its transmission for presidential assent.

Ahmed said a unified regulatory framework would strengthen public safety and professional accountability while helping address Nigeria’s nutrition challenges, including malnutrition, childhood stunting, maternal anaemia and diet-related non-communicable diseases.