A startling report from the World Poverty Clock says approximately 70.92 million persons in Nigeria live in extreme poverty, constituting a staggering 11% of the world’s population in dire economic conditions.
This revelation underscores Nigeria as a major hotspot for extreme poverty, with one out of every 10 extremely impoverished individuals globally residing in the country.
The data was shared by Sulaiman Adesina Yusuf of the Department of Agriculture Economics at the University of Ibadan during a one-day public lecture organized by the Federal Cares Unit of the Nigeria Covid-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (NG-CARES) programme in Abuja.
In his presentation, Yusuf highlighted Nigeria’s distressing rankings, noting that the nation stood at 163 out of 191 countries in the 2021 Human Development Index (HDI) and 109 out of 125 countries in the 2023 Global Index.
one out of every 10 extremely poor individuals globally reside in Nigeria
These rankings, he emphasized, are not only unacceptable for a country aspiring to compete globally but also raise serious concerns for policymakers.
While acknowledging the efforts of successive administrations in funding intervention programmes, Yusuf emphasized that the lack of political will to fully fund these programmes remains a significant challenge.
He advocated for the passage of the Social Protection Bill to generate political commitment at the federal and state levels, urging a realignment of resource allocation to scale up social protection measures.
Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu, commended the NG-CARES programme for its poverty alleviation initiatives.
He reiterates the administration’s dedication to combating poverty and highlighted President Bola Tinubu’s recent directive for a comprehensive review of the national social protection theme.
Bagudu pledged the government’s commitment to utilizing available resources to reverse the unfortunate narrative of poverty in the country.
