A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Ladan Salihu, has lamented that multidimensional poverty in Nigeria has worsened below the current administration.
Salihu made the assertion on Tuesday throughout an interview the place he said that Nigeria’s multidimensional poverty charge stood at 43% in 2014, rose considerably by 2019, and additional deteriorated by 2025.
Based on him, the statistics weren’t fabricated, noting that they had been printed by the World {Bank} and Nigeria’s Nationwide Bureau of Statistics.
The ADC chieftain additionally criticised the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led authorities, arguing that its {economic} reforms have been excessively harsh and have negatively affected the standard of life and livelihoods of Nigerians.
Salihu stated he anticipated political deflections through the programme however insisted that the information mirrored systemic failures below the present administration.
He disclosed that as of 2022, about 87 million Nigerians within the northern area and 47 million within the southern area had been dwelling in multidimensional poverty, bringing the full to 141 million nationwide.
He faulted the federal government for what he described as a scarcity of sincerity in addressing the nation’s {economic} challenges, stressing {that a} accountable authorities ought to confront such points straight.
Salihu additional argued that the elimination of gasoline subsidy with out sufficient cushioning measures had worsened {economic} hardship, contrasting the state of affairs with interventions launched through the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
He cited initiatives such because the Schooling Belief Fund (ETF) and the Mass Transit Programme as examples of insurance policies that helped scale back residents’ burden.
Based on him, transport prices have risen sharply following the subsidy elimination, noting that whereas a visit from Abuja to Kano price about ₦1,500 in 2014 and 2015, fares now vary between ₦13,000 and ₦15,000.