World Bank reiterates 71m Nigerians, other data ranks 109 out of 125 countries on Global Hunger Index
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
About 70.92 million Nigerians live in extreme poverty, as calculated by the World Poverty Clock, a figure that translates to 11 per cent of all extremely poor people globally.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) already disclosed in 2023 that more than 133 million Nigerians are multidimensionally poor.
Adesina Yusuf, a Professor at the Department of Agriculture Economics, University of Ibadan (UI), disclosed the latest figure in Abuja at a public lecture organised by the Federal Cares Unit of the Nigeria COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (NG-CARES) programme.
Yusuf, the guest lecturer at the event, noted Nigeria ranks 163 out of 191 countries in 2021 on the Human Development Index (HDI), and 109 out of 125 countries in 2023 on the Global Hunger Index.
In his view, this is not acceptable for a country that hopes to compete on the global stage and called for concern from policymakers.
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Need to pass Social Protection Bill
Yusuf acknowledged efforts made by Nigeria to fund intervention programmes but said the major challenge is the lack of political will to fully fund such schemes.
He advocated for the passage of the Social Protection Bill to generate political commitment for social protection at both federal and state levels as well as to realign allocation of resources to scale up social protection.
Budget and Economic Planning Minister Atiku Bagudu commended the work NG-CARES to lift Nigerians out of poverty.
He said the Bola Tinubu administration is passionate about poverty alleviation, citing how the President last month directed wholesale review of the national social protection scheme.
“Much as you think we have achieved progress, there is a lot that remains to be done,” Bagudu stressed, and pledged the government will do all within its power and available resources to reverse the sad tales of poverty in the country.
