NESG Chairman Reveals Worrisome Number of Nigerians Living Below Poverty Line
- Millions of Nigerians are said to be dropping below the poverty indices by the World Bank standards
- This was disclosed by the chairman of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, Asue Ighodal, in Abuja, Nigeria's capital city
- Ighodal said should the present administration focus on campaigns for the forthcoming elections rather than pulling people out of poverty, the issue would get worse
The chairman of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, Asue Ighodal, on Tuesday, January 25, said that 91 million Nigerians are currently living below the poverty line.
Ighodal at the launch of the 2022 Macro-Economic Outlook of the Group in Abuja, said the World Bank estimates that an additional one million Nigerians were pushed into poverty between June and November 2021.
Source: Twitter
Vanguard reports that Ighodal said this has resulted in about eight million people being relinquished to poverty in 2021 and bringing Nigeria's poverty headcount to about 91 million.
Ighodal said:
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“That is 91 million Nigerians afflicted by the ‘poverty virus’, which is every bit as deadly and more infectious than SARS COVID-19, judging by the numbers.”
The Punch reports that the NESG chairman said that with forthcoming campaigns for the 2023 general election the economic gains recorded in the country could easily be diminished should the government fail to improve the lives of the people.
Ighodal said:
"‘Being a pre-election year, the group feared that 2022 will likely come with increased election spending, which could motivate a tighter monetary policy stance to curb inflationary pressures.
‘‘Secondly, it envisaged that attention may shift from effective governance to outright politicking with the pace of decision-making usually slows down in a pre-election year and reform pronouncements and implementation becoming difficult."
Petrol price increase to push more Nigerians into poverty, Abdulsalami declares
General Abdulsalami Abubakar (Rtd) has warned the Muhammadu Buhari administration against an increase in the pump price of fuel.
The former Nigerian head of state said that increasing the fuel price will push many Nigerians into poverty.
Recall that the National Economic Council (NEC) that pump price should be pegged at N302 per litre.
Cooking Gas: NNPC give reasons for the hike in price, proffers solution
Many Nigerian households find it difficult to cope with the nearly every day increase in the price of cooking gas across the country.
This, undoubtedly, aggravates the problem associated with the hike in food prices.
While speaking on the cause of the hike in the price of cooking gas, the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mallam Mele Kyari, says the challenges in sourcing an adequate supply of cooking gas has led to the increase in prices of the commodity.
Legit.ng gathered that Kyari disclosed this during a working visit to the headquarters of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) in Abuja on Tuesday, September 7.
Source: Legit.ng
