FG Says 10 Million Nigerians Have Been Lifted Out of Poverty in 6 Years
- In the early life of its government, the Buhari administration set the very ambitious goal of lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty by 2030
- Providing an update on the initiative, a key member of the administration, Sadiya Umar Farouq says progress is being made
- According to her, the government has succeeded in lifting 10 million Nigerians out of poverty since the goal was set
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FCT, Abuja - The federal government said it has lifted over 10 million Nigerians out of extreme poverty in six years, through the National Social Investment Programmes (NSIPs).
Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, made the comment at a virtual launch of a global event targeted at carrying out a survey on the poverty index in developing countries.
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Dealing with rising poverty
A statement by the minister's spokesperson, Nneka Ikem Anibeze, and seen by Legit.ng quoted her as saying:
“The President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration has successfully empowered more than 10 million people out of extreme poverty through the many initiatives of government, including the National Social Investment Programme.
“This aspiration takes into cognizance the country’s current estimated population of about 200 million people, as well as the need for better evidence for programming.”
Farouq also revealed that the federal government would partner with private sector actors using the special purpose vehicle of social investments to create a national and state poverty map/tracker which will help provide progress towards poverty reduction goals.
She thanked the World Bank Group, UNICEF, and other bilateral and multilateral bodies, for their support towards eradicating extreme poverty by 2030 globally.
Latest World Bank data on poverty in Nigeria
According to World Bank data, 47.3% of Nigerians, or 98 million people in the country, live in multidimensional poverty.
Most of them are said to be located in northern Nigeria and this poverty rate does not include Borno state, where an insurgency has prevented data collection.
Meanwhile, the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero, has told President Muhammadu Buhari that the present economic situation in the country is inflicting untold hardship on Nigerians.
The monarch raised the concern on Thursday, July 15 while receiving President Buhari at his palace.
The Emir urged the Buhari-led administration to ease the economic crunch impoverishing the masses.
On his part, the spokesman of the Northern Elders Forum, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, has predicted that the Buhari-led government would have completely wrecked Nigeria by 2023 when it leaves power.
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According to him, the next political party to take over the helms of leadership in 2023 would have the herculean task of fixing the country.
Baba-Ahmed said the country’s current challenge is not just as a result of banditry and kidnapping activities but leadership failure.
Source: Legit.ng