Agba commends Buhari for commitment, passion towards elevating the poor

Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Ikanade Agba has commended President Muhammadu Buhari for his commitment and passion towards elevating the lives of the poor in the society.

He gave the commendation at the official launch of the 2022 Multidimensional Poverty Index Survey Report at Lagos Hall, Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja on Thursday.

Agba congratulated the President for his visionary leadership by setting the presidential mandate to lift 100 million out of poverty, by 2030. This vision was the catalyst for the implementation of the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), which survey findings we are gathered here today to launch.

He said there is no doubt that when the story of the administration is written, one thing that will clearly stand out, is the massive investment made by Mr. President in improving the living standards of the Nigerian citizens, not by words only but by committing actual resources to see to its realisation.

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He also commended the Honourable Minister for Finance Budget and National Planning, Dr. Mrs Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed, for her active and prominent role in supporting Mr. President achieve this laudable vision, even under very challenging economic conditions and competing priorities, history will remember you kindly.

Read Full Remarks Here:
SPECIAL REMARKS BY PRINCE CLEM IKANADE AGBA, HONOURABLE MINISTER OF STATE FOR BUDGET AND NATIONAL PLANNING AT THE LAUNCH OF THE 2022 MULTIDIMENSIONAL POVERTY INDEX SURVEY REPORT AT LAGOS HALL, TRANSCORP HILTON HOTEL, ABUJA HOLDING ON THURSDAY, 17TH NOVEMBER, 2022
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It is a great delight to be present here for the launch of the report of this important survey, the 2022 Multidimentional Poverty Index Survey. This is really a significant achievement for Nigeria, as we are one of the first countries in Africa to conduct this exercise as a standalone survey with this level of disaggregation. So I say a big congratulations to the National Bureau of Statistics and the entire Nigerian Statistical System for recording this feat.
2. I must congratulate His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari for his visionary leadership by setting the Presidential Mandate to lift 100 million out of poverty, by 2030. This vision was the catalyst for the implementation of the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), which survey findings we are gathered here today to launch.
3. The journey to today began during the first phase of the implementation of the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP), under the Office of the Vice President (OVP). This was a programme over-sighted then by the Ministry of Budget and National Planning (MBNP). It was concerning however that in spite of the programme successfully empowering more than 5 million persons, the poverty narrative about Nigeria seems not to have changed. This necessitated the examination of poverty beyond monetary terms to considering how deprivations in different sectors contribute to this narrative.
4. Monetary poverty figures showed that pre-COVID, of Nigeria’s over 200 million population, approximately 82.9 million (40.1%) were income poor. However, multidimensionally, a higher 50% were identified as poor while 51% experience intense poverty in education, health, energy, water, assets, and other living standard indicators. Unfortunately, this information as provided in the 2018 global MPI conducted across 50 countries, does not provide sub-national data that should trigger responsive action. Hence, beyond pondering why the country’s poverty narrative has not changed in spite of the huge government funding, we are conducting a sub-national MPI survey across the 109 senatorial districts, to investigate at granular level, why there is a disconnect between available social welfare opportunities and its uptake; identify which sector, State, senatorial district, and groups of persons with poverty incidences, and then use these data to nudge for behavioural changes that will lead to increase in uptake, influence design and implementation of projects, and also use as policy tool for targeted resource allocation.
5. The official flag-off of the survey took place in August 2021, with the first sub-national MPI survey being completed in February 2022. And in January 2022, I led a team of high-level partners to formally brief His Excellency- the Vice President on the MPI. I must pause at this juncture to specially recognise Prof. Alkire’s support at the meeting, with the invitation extended to His Excellency, Juan Manuel Santos- former President of Columbia, who joined virtually and contributed to the successful outcome of the meeting.
6. Given the journey so far, it is with eager anticipation I have looked forward to this day; a day when we get to share the behind-the scenes collaboration of Federal and the sub-national; inter-MDA partnerships; engagements with international development partners and multilateral organisations. These concerted efforts culminated in the confidence we repose in the 2022 Multidimensional Poverty Index Survey findings, which we are publishing today.
7. The 2022 Nigeria Multidimensional Poverty Index is not just another poverty measurement tool but one useful for influencing policies. This report provides a more comprehensive view of poverty by not only revealing who is poor, but in what way, and to what degree of intensity, turning it into a very practical resource for addressing the problem of poverty in all its forms and dimensions.
8. Since the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic which has reversed some of the gains made by this administration, particularly in the areas of healthcare and educational development, the government has been making significant efforts to address these setbacks and put the country back on a sound footing for long-term economic and social prosperity. This is no small task given the myriad of issues the government is grappling with, domestically and internationally. The National Development Plan (2021 – 2025) launched by His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, highlights several areas of priority where the administration is focusing to reverse these setbacks and achieve the poverty reduction objectives. The Plan, which is a medium-term blueprint designed to unlock the country’s potentials in all sectors of the economy for a sustainable, holistic and inclusive national development, lays significant emphasis on human capital and social development. Specifically, the Plan aims to generate 21 million full-time jobs and lift 35 million people out of poverty by 2025; thus setting the stage for achieving the government’s commitment of lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years. The 2022 Multidimensional Poverty Index survey results therefore equips us with valuable information available for the first time in our country to adequately and judiciously utilise in designing and implementing more efficient policies and programmes that effectively addresses poverty in a multidimensional way. The uniqueness of this report which presents new and updated information for urban and rural areas, at the level of zones, states, and senatorial districts, makes it the richest household level data sources available to policymakers in recent times.
9. In a Federal system such as ours, it is vital to understand the level of poverty by State and regions, but also how the composition of this poverty varies across them. The 2022 Multidimensional Poverty Index survey reveals how poverty levels across the States vary significantly, with the incidence of multidimensional poverty ranging from as low as 27% in Ondo to as high as 91% in Sokoto. The set of deprivations also vary quite widely between States with similar poverty levels. For instance, in Ondo, educational and housing related deprivations contribute more to multidimensional poverty than in Lagos, where food security, unemployment and shocks contribute more. So, using the MPI beyond measurements but as a policy, allows to tailor interventions according to the deprivation profiles of each State, making them more efficient by making data driven, and evidence-based policies that will result in greater impact. This is how valuable and useful this powerful tool can be; when deployed objectively, it can be a real game changer in the lives of citizens, just as we have seen in other countries that have utilised it, such as Colombia and Mexico. Mexico reduced its MPI by a quarter within a span of ten years, and Colombia and India cut their National MPI in half within a decade.
10. To reassure of Government’s commitment with transparency and with the utilisation of the MPI for policy, following this National Launch, there will be a series of other activities aimed at sensitising the public on the production and use of the data. There will be zonal dissemination of the results in all the six geo-political zones of the country. The Poverty Dashboard Situation Room headquartered at the National Bureau of Statistics will be commissioned soon. This Poverty Situation Room is part of the Data Demand and Use (DDU) strategy of the MPI, which houses more detailed information about the survey results, as well as other relevant and available welfare related information. The idea is to have a data hub of poverty and welfare information with different features, where policy discussions can be hosted, and members of the public can access to gain more knowledge and understanding on concepts and methods on how poverty measurements are done and how the data can be applied in practice.
11. Furthermore, the implementation of the Data Demand and Use includes the deployment of the National Poverty Map- which can be accessed at www.nigeriapovertymap.com which presents the survey findings in a user-friendly manner, comprehensible for a wide-range of stakeholders- the public, researchers, policy analysts, private sector, and the academia. On the map, you will see disaggregated data displaced in charts and maps, with the opportunity to compare across regions, States, and different groups. The activities of the Data Demand and Use strategy also include collaboration with the Policy Innovation Unit of the Nigeria Economic Summit Group. They are supporting to conduct further research on the current findings and extending these to sub-groups that were hitherto not included within the survey. Specifically, detailed analysis is being conducted to collect more gendered disaggregation, understand the deprivations within the correctional system and the Internally Displaced Persons’ camps across the Federation.
12. Additionally, to ensure the sustainability of this new multidimensional way of addressing poverty, the MPI has been adopted as the key policy tool and measurement method (complementing income-based measurement) for poverty, within the Medium-Term National Development Plan 2021-2025.
13. At The Ministry of Finance, Budget and Planning, we will continue to play our oversight role as the government’s institution tasked with policy and project designs, as well as the monitoring and evaluation of projects. In this context, the MPI will be used to systematically track progress against the Sustainable Development Goal 1 and included in the next Voluntary National Review (VNR) on the reduction of poverty in all its forms and dimensions across all of Nigeria.
14. I must commend His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari for his commitment and passion towards elevating the lives of the poor in our society. There is no doubt that when the story of the administration is written, one thing that will clearly stand out, is the massive investment made by Mr. President in improving the living standards of the Nigerian citizens, not by words only but by committing actual resources to see to its realisation. I also want to commend my Dear Sister, the Honourable Minister for Finance Budget and National Planning, Dr. Mrs Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed, for her active and prominent role in supporting Mr. President achieve this laudable vision, even under very challenging economic conditions and competing priorities, history will remember you kindly.
15. I would like to end this note by congratulating the Statistician General- Prince Semiu Adeyemi Adeniran, under whose leadership this survey was successfully conducted; and to the National Coordinator of the MPI- Ms Sola Afolayan who remained focussed, galvanising efforts to ensure buy-in and ownership of the process by all stakeholders. Let me likewise express our profound gratitude to the Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative at the University of Oxford for their technical assistance; and to other partners that offered support- the Delegation of the European Union, Global Affairs Canada, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).
Thank you for your kind attention.
God bless you and God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.