Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Ikanade Agba, said, on Tuesday, that President Muhammadu Buhari had adopted social safety nets as a core approach to tackling and reversing the current level of poverty in Nigeria.
Agba, who spoke at a ministerial dialogue on National Social Register, said available data by the Nigeria Living Stsndard Survey, NLSS, indicated that current poverty level was placed at 40.1 per cent or 82.9 million Nigerians.
According to him, recent global rating indicated that Nigeria was host to more of the world’s extreme poor today than any other country.
The rating, he said, had projected that by 2030, the share of Nigeria’s population living in extreme poverty would have risen from 40.1 percent (in 2019) to 45.0 percent, representing about 120 million people living on less than US$1.9 a day, which is the World Bank global index.
The minister said that in an attempt to reverse these unpleasant figures, President Buhari, while delivering his inaugural speech for a second term in office, had stated that his administration would thenceforth begin to lay the foundations for accomplishing the poverty reduction goal.
He stated that the President desire was anchored on the surefooted plan to lift at least 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years by offering leadership with a sense of purpose.
“By this pronouncement, the President clearly indicated social safety nets as the core approach to reversing the trend and improving the lives of Nigerians.
“His pronouncements anchored on some fundamental structures and systems which the administration has already started building.
“One of such is the National Social Safety Nets Programme (NASSP), a FGN/World Bank supported National Flagship Programme; aimed at reducing the impact of poverty and socio-economic vulnerabilities in Nigeria,” he said.
He stated further that the use of data and evidence to drive the vision to lift 100 million out of poverty were central to the president’s pronouncement.
The minister said that National Social Register currently had over 6 million poor and vulnerable households (PVHHs) with 26 million individuals distributed across the 36 states and the FCT.
“Without fear of contradiction, I make bold to say that this is the most comprehensive database on the poor and vulnerable in the country.
“The National Social Register does not only provide data on individuals, but also other key socio-economic indicators which are essential elements for the design, planning, budgeting and implementation of key projects targeted at the poor and their communities.
“Nigeria, and, indeed, my ministry, whose core mandate is to warehouse development plans, monitor its implementation and measure its impact on the lives of Nigerians cannot ignore this rich database,” the minister stated.
He reiterated the commitment of the Federsl Government to prioritizing the social protection sector and expanding the coverage of such important programme that demonstrates greater impact in reducing poverty.
“We are grateful for the technical and financial support and partnership with World Bank and other Development Partners, and will continue to leverage on their support as we look to utilizing the National Social Register for our sector plans and other development efforts,” he said at the well-attended ministerial dialogue on the National Social Register hosted by the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development.
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