NBS says 133 million Nigerians are very poor

Out of the over 200 million Nigerians, 133 million are multidimensionally poor, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

This means that they experience deprivations in more than one dimension or in at least 26 per cent of weighted indicators.

This is contained in the National Multidimensional Poverty Index (NMPI) launched by President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja, yesterday.

According to the document, over half of the population is deprived of cooking fuel and high deprivations are also apparent in sanitation, time to healthcare, food insecurity and housing.

The report also pointed out that multidimensional poverty is higher in rural areas with 72 per cent of people being poor compared to 42 per cent of people in urban areas.

It noted that 70 per cent of Nigeria’s population live in rural areas while 80 per cent of poor people and their intensity of poverty is also higher – 42 per cent in rural areas compared to 37 per cent in urban areas.

Whereas sixty-five per cent of poor (86 million) Nigerians, live in the north, 35 per cent (47 million) live in the south.

“Poverty levels across states vary significantly with the incidence of multidimensional poverty ranging from a low 27 per cent in Ondo to a high of 91 per cent in Sokoto.

“Seventy-one per cent of people living in households with at least one person living with a disability (PLWD) are poor compared to 62 per cent of people who live in households where no one is living with a disability” the report, said.

It added that 29 per cent of all school-aged children are not attending school and 94 per cent of all out-of-school are poor.

“Thus, 27 per cent of all school-aged children are both poor and out of school (with no significant gender disparities),” the report, said.

However, the document explained that the purpose of the National Multidimensional Poverty Index (NMPI) is to be used as a policy tool but it’s not expected to reduce poverty.

“Leadership and a strong commitment to this purpose are needed to go further than measurement,” the document added.