Headline

133 Million Poverty Index: Twists, Turns As FG, States Trade Blame

Published

3 years ago

December 7, 2022

The recent report by the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS) that about 133 million Nigerians live in poverty is generating serious controversy, with the Federal and State governors now trading words.

Recall that in the early month of November, NBS disclosed that 133 million Nigerians were multi-dimensionally poor, saying that the figure represents 63 percent of the country’s population.

The report blamed the country’s rising poverty on poor access to education, living standards, health, employment and security.

It further indicated that 65% of the country’s poor people (86 million) live in the North, whereas 35% (nearly 47 million) live in the South.

In the wake of the NBS report, SERAP blamed Nigeria’s rising poverty on corruption and mismanagement in the spending of trillions of naira on social safety nets and poverty alleviation programmes, including the reported disbursement of over $700 million from the repatriated Abacha looted funds to these programmes.

Some economic experts also blamed the country’s leaders at the federal, State and local governments for throwing millions of Nigerians into abject poverty.

However, following a series of criticisms and condemnations that trailed the report, the federal government last Wednesday came out to say that State governors were responsible for the rising rate of poverty across the country.

Clement Agba, the honourable Minister of State for Budget and National Planning had, while briefing correspondents at the State House shortly after the weekly Federal Executive Council meeting in Abuja, attributed the poverty rate to governors’ misplaced priority.

Agba said the governors prioritised the construction of infrastructure, such as bridges and airports in cities, rather than improving the lives of the people in rural communities, adding that State governors chose to expend State resources on the capital cities.

“The governors are basically functioning in their State capitals. And a democracy that we preach about is delivering the greatest goods to the greatest number of people. And our demography shows that the greatest number of our people live in rural areas, but the governors are not working in the rural areas.

“I think from the Federal Government’s side, we are doing our best. But we need to say that rather than governors continuing to compete to take loans to build airports that are not necessary, where they have other airports so close to them, or governors now competing to build flyovers all over the place, we appeal that they should concentrate on building rural roads so that the farmer can at least get their products to the market,” he said.

Reacting to the federal government’s claim that they were responsible for the poverty among Nigerians, State Governors, under the umbrella of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, stated that the Federal Government has the blame for the rising poverty level among Nigerians.

The NGF said the rising level of poverty in the country was a consequence of the biting effect of insecurity on commercial and agricultural activities.

NGF blamed FG for abandoning its duty of addressing the security challenges crippling economic activities in the country.

The NGF also alleged that the Federal Government’s inaction had allowed bandits, insurgents, and kidnappers to turn the country into a killing field.

“This dereliction of duty from the centre is the main reason why people have been unable to engage in regular agrarian activity and commerce. Today, rural areas are insecure, markets are unsafe, travel surety is improbable, and life for the common people generally is harsh and brutish.

“How can a defenceless rural population maintain a sustainable lifestyle of peace and harmony when their lives are cut prematurely, and they wallow permanently in danger? How does a minister whose government has been unable to ensure security, law, and order have the temerity to blame governors?” it said in a statement.

Speaking to DAILY POST, a private financial management consultant, who would not want his name mentioned, said the blame should go to all the levels of government, including federal, State and local governments.

He lamented that the issue of poverty is a cumulative effect of bad policy choices by various levels of government in the country.

“First, the government at the centre seems to be directionless; there is no clear-cut economic blueprint it’s working with. Its policies are more of a cut-and-join approach. The problem started right from the time it took over power from the previous administration. How can one justify the delay in constituting the federal cabinets in 2015? Do you think it did not have negative effects?

“We are aware of the impact of COVID-19 and, recently, the war in Ukraine on the world economy, especially on the economies of developing countries, but it is not enough an excuse for the deep mess the nation has found itself in.

“The problem is even more compounded at the State level of government. The governors are notorious for gate-crashing at Abuja every month to collect monthly allocations; aside from that, the governors don’t have a plan on how to develop human capital within their areas of jurisdiction. One may say that it is a structural problem of our own type of federalism, but it is not a sufficient reason for bad governance.

“Even though everyone would readily want to lay blame on the federal government, how do you justify the strangulation of local governments under the supervision of State governors? We are all in the know of how the State governors treat local governments as if they are private estates.

“I think the causal factors of poverty in the country are complex, even though these factors are within the purview of the various levels of government, be it federal, State or local government. One may look at it from the angle of security, education, social infrastructures and the economy,” he said.

Headline

Netanyahu’s Plane Takes Unusual Route To UN Summit

Published

6 hours ago

September 25, 2025

Editor

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plane took an unusual route to New York on Thursday, skirting several European countries en route to the United Nations General Assembly.

Although France had authorised Israeli use of its airspace, according to a French diplomatic source who spoke to AFP, flight-tracking data showed Netanyahu’s aircraft instead took a southern path.

It crossed Greece and Italy, then veered south through the Strait of Gibraltar before heading across the Atlantic.

Britain, France and Portugal were among a string of countries to recognise a Palestinian state this week, a move Netanyahu bitterly opposes. Ireland and Spain announced their recognition in May.

Israeli media, meanwhile, reported that the detour by Netanyahu’s plane was intended to avoid countries that are signatories to the Rome Statute, which could enforce an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court in case of an emergency landing.

The ICC in November issued warrants for Netanyahu and his former defence minister, Yoav Gallant, over alleged war crimes committed during Israel’s military offensive in Gaza.

Spain last week announced it would support the ICC investigation and had set up a team to probe alleged human rights violations in Gaza, as part of its broader push to pressure Israel to end the war.

Netanyahu is scheduled to address the UN General Assembly on Friday. He is also slated to meet US President Donald Trump at the White House next week.

AFP

Headline

Japan Scraps ‘Africa Hometown’ Project After Visa Confusion

Published

6 hours ago

September 25, 2025

Editor

The Japan International Cooperation Agency has cancelled its ‘JICA Africa Hometown’ initiative, citing “misunderstandings and confusion” over the programme.

JICA announced the withdrawal in a statement on its website on Thursday, weeks after reports claimed Japan would create a special visa category for Nigerians who wished to relocate to Kisarazu, a city designated as “hometown” to Nigerians and other Africans under the scheme.

On August 26, the Japanese government denied the visa plan after the Director of Information at the State House, Abiodun Oladunjoye, issued a statement relaying that Japan would introduce a “special visa category” for highly skilled, innovative, and talented young Nigerians who want to move to Kisarazu to live and work.

Clarifying its position, JICA said the use of the term “hometown” and the idea of “designating” Japanese municipalities as such led to “misunderstandings and confusion within Japan, placing an excessive burden on the four municipalities.”

The statement read, “Originally, under this initiative, it was envisioned that exchange programs would be coordinated and implemented among the Japanese local governments, relevant African countries, and JICA. The specific details were to be determined later.

“However, JICA believes that the very nature of this initiative—namely, the term “hometown” and the fact that JICA would ‘designate’ Japanese local Governments as “hometowns”—led to misunderstandings and confusion within Japan, placing an excessive burden on the four municipalities. JICA sincerely apologizes to the municipalities involved for causing such situation.

“JICA takes this situation seriously. After consulting with all parties involved, JICA has decided to withdraw the “JICA Africa Hometown” initiative.”

The initiative was launched in August during the 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development with the goal of promoting exchanges between four Japanese municipalities and four African countries through cultural and educational programmes.

JICA, however, stressed that it had never undertaken initiatives to promote immigration and has “no plans to do so in the future,” adding that it would continue supporting other forms of international exchange.

In August, confusion arose after the State House announced that Japan had designated Kisarazu city as the “hometown” for Nigerians and would introduce a special visa category for young, skilled Nigerians wishing to live and work there.

However, the Japanese government quickly dismissed the claim.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan clarified that while the JICA Africa Hometown initiative aimed to promote cultural and developmental exchanges between selected African countries and four Japanese cities, it did not involve immigration benefits or special visas.

The clarification came after Nigeria’s Chargé d’Affaires in Japan, Florence Akinyemi Adeseke, and Kisarazu’s Mayor, Yoshikuni Watanabe, publicly received a certificate naming the city the “hometown” of Nigerians, further fuelling reports of migration opportunities.

Headline

17 African Countries Back Electricity Reforms—World Bank

Published

11 hours ago

September 25, 2025

Editor

The World Bank said seventeen African governments have committed to reforms and actionable plans to expand electricity access as part of Mission 300, an ambitious partnership led by the lender and the African Development Bank Group that aims to connect 300 million Africans to electricity by 2030.

The lender said in a statement on Wednesday that governments from Benin, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Comoros, the Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sierra Leone, and Togo endorsed National Energy Compacts at the Bloomberg Philanthropies Global Forum.

The Bank described the compacts as policy blueprints intended to guide public spending, drive reforms, and attract private investment, while serving as a model for the rest of the world.

Nigeria was not part of the latest group; it had joined earlier this year alongside Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Tanzania, and Zambia. Collectively, those countries pledged more than 400 policy actions to strengthen utilities, reduce investor risk, and remove bottlenecks.

“Electricity is the bedrock of jobs, opportunity, and economic growth.

“That’s why Mission 300 is more than a target; it is forging enduring reforms that slash costs, strengthen utilities, and draw in private investment,” World Bank Group President Ajay Banga said.

Since the launch of Mission 300, 30 million people have already been connected, with more than 100 million in the pipeline.

African Development Bank Group President Dr Sidi Ould Tah said, “Reliable, affordable power is the fastest multiplier for small and medium enterprises, agro-processing, digital work, and industrial value-addition.
“Give a young entrepreneur power, and you’ve given them a paycheck,” he added.

National Energy Compacts are at the core of Mission 300, developed and endorsed by governments with technical support from development partners. Tailored to each country’s context, these practical blueprints integrate three core tracks: infrastructure, financing, and policy.

The World Bank Group and the African Development Bank Group are working with partners, including the Rockefeller Foundation, Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet, Sustainable Energy for All, and the World Bank’s Energy Sector Management Assistance Program trust fund, to align efforts in support of powering Africa. Many development partners and development finance institutions are also supporting Mission 300 projects through co-financing and technical assistance.

President of Botswana, Duma Boko, said, “This National Compact is our shared pledge to ensure accessible, reliable and affordable energy as a basic human need, to transform our economy and create jobs, and to electrify our journey to an inclusive high-income country.”

President of the Republic of Cameroon, Paul Biya, said, “The government of the Republic of Cameroon is committed, through its Energy Compact, to a determined transition towards renewable energies, promoting inclusive universal access and sustainable development based on partnerships and ambitious reforms to build a low-carbon future.”

President of the Union of the Comoros, Azali Assoumani, noted, “The Comoros Energy Compact is a call for collective action to achieve universal access to electricity by 2030, to ensure the country’s emergence in dignity, equity, and shared progress.”

President of Ethiopia, Taye Atske Selassie, noted, “Our National Energy Compact exemplifies Ethiopia’s unwavering dedication to ensuring universal, affordable, and sustainable energy access for all.

“By unlocking our vast renewable resources and strengthening regional interconnections, we aim to foster inclusive growth domestically and propel Africa’s collective momentum toward ending energy poverty. Together, we are committed to building a resilient, equitable, and sustainable energy future for generations to come.”