Kalu Seeks WTO Action On Food Security, Investment Rules

By Jennete Ugo Anya 

Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dr. Benjamin Kalu, has called on the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to deliver concrete outcomes on food security and investment facilitation, warning that prolonged delays could weaken confidence in the multilateral trading system. He spoke in Geneva at the 57th Session of the Steering Committee of the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO (PCWTO), attended by WTO Director-General (DG), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

DEVELOPMENT:

The session, co-chaired by Bernd Lange of the European Parliament and Anda Filip, Secretary-General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), reviewed multilateral trade negotiations, follow-up actions from the 14th WTO Ministerial Conference and recommendations from the PCWTO session in Yaoundé, Cameroon.

Kalu acknowledged progress on fisheries subsidies and development issues but questioned the continued absence of a permanent solution on public stockholding for food security, 13 years after the 2013 Bali Ministerial Conference.

“Thirteen years cannot be explained as an ordinary negotiating delay. Behind every delayed outcome are farmers, workers and families living with the consequences of decisions we defer,” Kalu said.

He proposed a waiver under Article IX:3 of the Marrakesh Agreement as an interim mechanism for qualifying public stockholding programmes.

DATA:

The central timeline is 13 years since the Bali commitment without a permanent solution on public stockholding. Nigeria has co-sponsored the position of the African Group, African, Caribbean and Pacific Group and G33 seeking a permanent resolution.

Kalu also pointed to the Investment Facilitation for Development Agreement, saying broad support has been stalled by a formal objection. The issue sits alongside wider WTO discussions on e-commerce, digital trade and dispute settlement.

SIGNIFICANCE:

For Nigeria and other developing economies, WTO decisions on food stockholding affect the policy space available to governments addressing food security. Investment facilitation is similarly relevant to efforts to attract and retain productive investment.

Kalu argued that parliamentary oversight must extend beyond attendance at international meetings. He proposed that participating legislatures submit reports on concrete actions taken to advance WTO outcomes.

“Too often, our discussions focus on what Geneva has or has not done. We should devote equal attention to what our own governments and legislatures have done since the last meeting. Accountability must run in both directions,” he said.

NEXT MOVE:

Attention will centre on efforts to resolve the public stockholding issue, progress on investment facilitation and the proposed strengthening of parliamentary engagement with WTO negotiations.

Kalu also secured a reaffirmation of IPU support for the PCWTO event scheduled for Abuja in 2027.

OUR LENS:

The debate is increasingly about whether the WTO can convert broad areas of agreement into operational outcomes while retaining consensus-based decision-making.

Okonjo-Iweala said consensus gives members an equal voice, but its application as unanimity has allowed single objections to block outcomes with broad support. She urged parliamentarians to propose practical reforms, citing transparency and improved notifications as confidence-building measures.

Kalu framed Nigeria’s position around restoring confidence in multilateral trade governance: “Nigeria is not here to add to the diagnosis. We are here to help restore that trust.”

Jennete Ugo Anya is a journalist and researcher with interests across Nigeria’s economy, public policy, business, MSMEs, development and strategic communications, Foreign direct investments, development finance institutions.