Headline

10 Poorest States Owe Over N1tn, Provide Govs Jumbo Package

Published

3 years ago

June 8, 2023

The 10 poorest states in Nigeria owe local and foreign creditors about N1.18tn, according to findings by The PUNCH.

While the data for the poorest state was acquired from the National Bureau of Statistics, the debt data was obtained from the Debt Management Office.

The NBS, in its National Multidimensional Poverty Index report, disclosed that 133 million Nigerians are multi-dimensionally poor.

The NBS said 63 per cent of Nigerians were poor due to a lack of access to health, education, living standards, employment, and security.

The Multidimensional Poverty Index offered a multivariate form of poverty assessment, identifying deprivations across health, education, living standards, work, and shocks.

The report presented the level of poverty in each state of the country.

The NBS report showed Sokoto, Bayelsa, Gombe, Jigawa, and Plateau were the top five poorest states in 2022.

These states were followed by Yobe, Kebbi, Taraba. Ebonyi, and Zamfara.

It was observed that the top 10 poorest states had a total of 43.99 million poor people, which was 33.08 per cent of the total population of poor people in Nigeria.

Sokoto led the poorest, with 90.5 per cent of people in the state poor. It is followed by Bayelsa with 88.5 per cent poor people, Gombe with 86.2 per cent, Jigawa with 84.3 per cent, and Plateau with 84 per cent.

Yobe had 83.5 per cent of its population as poor, Kebbi had 82.2 per cent and Taraba had 79.4 per cent.

Both Ebonyi and Zamfara states each had 78 per cent of their total population poor.

The NBS report noted that 65 per cent of poor Nigerians (86 million) were in the North, while 35 per cent (nearly 47 million) were in the South.

The report noted, “Overall, 65 per cent of poor people – 86 million people live in the North, while 35 per cent – nearly 47 million – live in the South. In general, a disparity between North and South is evident in both incidence and intensity of multidimensional poverty, with the North being poorer.

“However, the level and number of poor people needs to be addressed in all zones – each of which are home to between 11 and 20 million poor people except North-West, which has 45 million poor people due to its larger population and higher level of poverty.”

It also noted that 72 per cent of people in rural areas were poor. It was the same for 42 per cent of people in urban areas.

Aside from struggling with a high poverty rate, the 10 poorest states also struggled with local and foreign debts.

Data from the subnational debt report as of December 2022 showed that the states had N998bn domestic debt and $386.16m foreign debt (about N178.28bn, using the exchange rate of the Central Bank of Nigeria of N461.68 to a dollar as of Tuesday).

From the debt data, Plateau had the highest local debt of N149.01bn, then Bayelsa (N146.37bn) and Gombe (N139.32bn).

Zamfara had local debt of N112.2bn, Yobe had N90.76bn, Sokoto had N90.6bn, Taraba had N87.96bn, and Ebonyi had N76.5bn.

The least owing states on the list for subnational domestic debt were Jigawa (N43.95bn) and Kebbi (N61.31bn).

It was further observed that Bayelsa had the highest foreign debt of $60.39m.

It was followed by Ebonyi ($58.57m), Taraba ($46.47m), Kebbi ($40.93m), Sokoto ($36.56m), Gombe ($32.48m) and Plateau ($32.4m).

The least debtor owing foreign creditors were Yobe ($22.51m), Jigawa ($26.99m), and Zamfara ($28.86m).

The PUNCH further observed that despite the high poverty and debt, some of the states released huge pension benefits to their past governors.

The Jigawa State ‘Former Public Officers Pension and other Benefits Law No. 15 of 2015’ stipulates that a governor who successfully completes his term without impeachment will be entitled to a monthly pension equivalent to the current salary of the current governor, two brand new vehicles to be provided by the state government and to be replaced after every four year, six-bedroom fully furnished house, two personal assistants not below grade level 10, two drivers selected by the governor and to be paid by the state, a fully furnished office in any location of choice and fully paid medical treatment within Nigeria and abroad.

The deputy governor is also to get a monthly pension equivalent to the incumbent’s salary, one assistant not below level eight, one brand new vehicle, a four-bedroom flat, and an office in a location of his choice.

In Sokoto, each former governor, under the Sokoto State Pension Law, gets N200m every four years, while the deputy is entitled to perks amounting to N180m, being monetisation for other entitlements, including domestic aides, residences, and vehicles that can be renewed after every four years.

Section 2 (2) of the Sokoto State Grant of Pension (Governor and Deputy Governor) Law, 2013 states, “The total annual pension to be paid to the governor and deputy governor shall be at a rate equivalent to the annual total salary of the incumbent governor or deputy governor of the state, respectively.”

The Ebonyi State Political Office Holders Amendment Law, 2011, makes provision for the payment of pension to Governor Umahi, who is set to move to the Red Chamber of the National Assembly. The law also made provisions for vehicles and personal aides, among others, for the governor and his deputy.

Yobe State, in its pension law, provides that former governors be given a severance gratuity of N200m, two vehicles to be replaced every four years, free medical care and a house in the state or the Federal Capital Territory, among others provisions.

Also, Plateau State has a pension law that supports the payment of N600,000 to its ex-governor as monthly take-home; Gombe State has a law supporting the provision of N300m as pension benefits for the ex-governors.

Zamfara State repealed its pension law that allowed for the payment of pensions and other allowances to the state’s former governors and their deputies shortly after the immediate past Governor, Abdul’aziz Yari, in a leaked letter to the State Government, requested his N10m monthly upkeep. The letter evoked outrage across the country, with many people calling for the abolition of the law in states that had them.

The PUNCH reported that some of these states also owed salaries and pension of their workers amid the high poverty rate.

It was reported that in Plateau State, the new Governor, Caleb Muftwang of the PDP, would have to settle outstanding salaries owed by his predecessor, Simon Lalong of the APC.

In Taraba State, almost all categories of workers were owed, from lecturers in the state-owned university to teachers. The Taraba State NLC had during the 2023 Labour Day celebration, urged the governor to settle the six months’ salaries of local government employees and five months for primary school teachers before handing over to the incoming administration.

In Zamfara State, it was reported that the former Governor, Bello Matawalle, owed workers at least two months’ salaries.

A professor of economics, Prof. Ode Ojowu, earlier urged the government and key stakeholders to come up with policies, programmes and projects that would tackle rising poverty.

Also, the former Minister of State for Finance, Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Agba, earlier said that it was concerning that despite the Social Investment Programme designed to tackle poverty, with more than five million persons impacted, poverty still persisted in the country.
PUNCH

Headline

South Korea, Japan Protest China, Russia Aircraft Incursions

Published

13 hours ago

December 10, 2025

Editor

South Korea and Japan reacted furiously on Wednesday after Chinese and Russian military aircraft conducted joint patrols around the two countries, with both Seoul and Tokyo scrambling jets.

South Korea said it had protested with representatives of China and Russia, while Japan said it had conveyed its “serious concerns” over national security.

According to Tokyo, two Russian Tu-95 nuclear-capable bombers on Tuesday flew from the Sea of Japan to rendezvous with two Chinese H-6 bombers in the East China Sea, then conducted a joint flight around the country.

The incident comes as Japan is locked in a dispute with China over comments Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made about Taiwan.

The bombers’ joint flights were “clearly intended as a show of force against our nation, Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi wrote on X Wednesday.

Top government spokesman Minoru Kihara said that Tokyo had “conveyed to both China and Russia our serious concerns over our national security through diplomatic channels”.

Seoul said Tuesday the Russian and Chinese warplanes entered its air defence zone and that a complaint had been lodged with the defence attaches of both countries in the South Korean capital.

“Our military will continue to respond actively to the activities of neighbouring countries’ aircraft within the KADIZ in compliance with international law,” said Lee Kwang-suk, director general of the International Policy Bureau at Seoul’s defence ministry, referring to the Korea Air Defence Identification Zone.

South Korea also said it deployed “fighter jets to take tactical measures in preparation for any contingencies” in response to the Chinese and Russian incursion into the KADIZ.

The planes were spotted before they entered the air defence identification zone, defined as a broader area in which countries police aircraft for security reasons but which does not constitute their airspace.

Japan’s defence ministry also scrambled fighter jets to intercept the warplanes.

Beijing later Tuesday confirmed it had organised drills with Russia’s military according to “annual cooperation plans”.

Moscow also described it as a routine exercise, saying it lasted eight hours and that some foreign fighter jets followed the Russian and Chinese aircraft.

Since 2019, China and Russia have regularly flown military aircraft into South Korea’s air defence zone without prior notice, citing joint exercises.

In November last year, Seoul scrambled jets as five Chinese and six Russian military planes flew through its air defence zone.

Similar incidents occurred in June and December 2023, and in May and November 2022.

Meanwhile, Tokyo said Monday it had scrambled jets in response to repeated takeoff and landing exercises involving fighter jets and military helicopters from China’s Liaoning aircraft carrier as it cruised in international waters near Japan.

It also summoned Beijing’s ambassador after military aircraft from the Liaoning locked radar onto Japanese jets, the latest incident in the row ignited by Takaichi’s comments backing Taiwan.

Takaichi suggested last month that Japan would intervene militarily in any Chinese attack on the self-ruled island, which Beijing claims as its own and has not ruled out seizing by force.

AFP

Headline

Thousands Reported To Have Fled DR Congo Fighting As M23 Closes On Key City

Published

1 day ago

December 9, 2025

Editor

Fierce fighting rocked the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday as the Rwanda-backed M23 militia rapidly advanced towards the strategic city of Uvira, with tens of thousands of people fleeing over the nearby border into Burundi, sources said.

The armed group and its Rwandan allies were just a few kilometres (miles) north of Uvira, security and military sources told AFP.

The renewed violence undermined a peace agreement brokered by US President Donald Trump that Kinshasa and Kigali signed less than a week ago, on December 4.

Trump had boasted that the Rwanda-DRC conflict was one of eight he has ended since returning to power in America in January.

With the new fighting, more than 30,000 people have fled the area around Uvira for Burundi in the space of a week, a UN source and a Burundian administrative source told AFP.

The Burundian source told AFP on condition of anonymity he had recorded more than 8,000 daily arrivals over the past two days, and 30,000 arrivals in one week. A source in the UN refugee agency confirmed the figure.

The Rwanda-backed M23 offensive comes nearly a year after the group seized control of Goma and Bukavu, the two largest cities in eastern DRC, a strategic region rich in natural resources and plagued by conflict for 30 years.

Local people described a state of growing panic as bombardments struck the hills above Uvira, a city of several hundred thousand residents.

“Three bombs have just exploded in the hills. It’s every man for himself,” said one resident reached by telephone.

“We are all under the beds in Uvira — that’s the reality,” another resident said, while a representative of civil society who would not give their name described fighting on the city’s outskirts.

Fighting was also reported in Runingo, another small locality some 20 kilometres (12 miles) from Uvira, as the M23 and the Rwandan army closed in.

Burundi views the prospect of Uvira falling to Rwanda-backed forces as an existential threat, given that it sits across Lake Tanganyika from Burundi’s economic capital Bujumbura.

The city is the main sizeable locality in the area yet to fall to the M23 and its capture would essentially cut off the zone from DRC control.

Burundi deployed about 10,000 soldiers to eastern DRC in October 2023 as part of a military cooperation agreement, and security sources say reinforcements have since taken that presence to around 18,000 men.

The M23 and Rwandan forces launched their Uvira offensive on December 1.

Rich in natural resources, eastern DRC has been choked by successive conflicts for around three decades.

Violence in the region intensified early this year when M23 fighters seized the key eastern city of Goma in January, followed by Bukavu, capital of South Kivu province, a few weeks later.

– Regional risk –

The peace deal meant to quell the fighting was signed last Thursday in Washington by Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame, with Trump — who called it a “miracle” deal — also putting his signature to it.

The agreement includes an economic component intended to secure US supplies of critical minerals present in the region, as America seeks to challenge China’s dominance in the sector.

But even on the day of the signing, intense fighting took place in South Kivu, where Uvira is located, which included the bombing of houses and schools.

Witnesses and military sources in Uvira said that Congolese soldiers fleeing the fighting had arrived in the city overnight Monday and shops were looted at dawn.

Several hundred Congolese and Burundian soldiers had already fled to Burundi on Monday, according to military sources, since the M23 fighters embarked on their latest offensive from Kamanyola, some 70 kilometres north of Uvira.
Since the M23’s lightning offensive early this year, the front had largely stabilised over the past nine months.

Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye warned in February there was a danger of the conflict escalating into a broader regional war, a fear echoed by the United Nations.

Headline

‘Santa Claus’ Arrested For Possessing, Distributing Child Sexual Abuse Material

Published

1 day ago

December 9, 2025

Editor

A 64-year-old man from Hamilton Township has been arrested in the United States after investigators linked him to the possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material.

The suspect, identified as Mark Paulino, had been working as a “Santa for hire” at holiday events, a role that placed him in repeated contact with children.

Mercer County officials said the investigation began on 4 December when detectives were alerted to suspicious online activity involving the uploading of child pornography from a residence in Hamilton Township. The probe quickly identified Paulino, a retired elementary school teacher, as the person involved.

Police stated that Paulino had presented himself online as a retired teacher and had recently performed as Santa Claus for photographs and private, corporate, and organisational events. “Because this role involved direct, repeated contact with children, detectives worked around the clock to secure a search warrant,” authorities explained.

The warrant was executed on 5 December, during which police seized multiple items regarded as evidentiary. Paulino was taken into custody without incident and charged with possession and distribution of child sexual abuse materials, as well as endangering the welfare of a child.

Prosecutors have filed a motion to detain him pending trial. The investigation remains ongoing, and authorities have urged members of the public with relevant information to come forward.