130m Nigerians living in poverty—NBS

About 130 million Nigerians are poor and are living in poverty, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said in its 2022 Multidimensional Poverty Index Survey, released in Abuja on Thursday.

Noting that the figure represents 63% of the nation’s population, the Bureau said the poverty index is mostly experienced in rural areas, especially in the north, with women and children being the most affected.

The survey was conducted by the NBS, the National Social Safety-Nets Coordinating Office (NASSCO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI).

Using data, based on Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), with five components of health, living standard, education, security, and unemployment, the report said over 50 percent of children across the country are affected by poverty.

In his remarks, the Statistician-General of the Federation, Adeyemi Adeniran, noted that 56,610 households were surveyed, and areas such as health, education, living standards, food security, water reliability, underemployment, security shocks, and school attendance were considered.

While the multidimensional poverty index stood at 27 percent in Ondo State, the figure is estimated at 90 percent in Sokoto state, making it the worst hit by the socio-economic issue.