Poverty: Presidency Refutes World Bank Claim

[Shola Sholaz]

The presidency has refuted a claim credited to Mrs Marie-Franciose Nelly, the World Bank Country Director in Nigeria that 100 million Nigerians live in destitution or extreme poverty.
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This is contained in a statement issued by Dr Nwanze Okidegbe, the Chief Economic Adviser to the President.
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Nelly made the claim in Enugu on Nov. 12 during the bank's Country Programme Portfolio Review.
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In the statement made available to NAN on Sunday in Abuja, Okidegbe described Nelly's claim as `false.'
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He said that the claim contradicts the position of Makhtar Diop, the Bank's Vice President for Africa during his visit to Nigeria in May.
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"In May 2013, Diop declared that poverty has fallen under this administration from 48 per cent to 46 per cent.
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"Given our current population of about 170 million people, the Country Director's imagery of 100 million Nigerian destitute seems to be based on a much higher poverty rate than that of her boss.
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"The question that arises from this absurdity therefore is: who is right?
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"Secondly, according to the World Bank, to live in extreme poverty is to live on less than 1.25 dollars per day, including the cost of accommodation, clothing, feeding, and other incidentals.
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"1.25 dollars per day translates into N200 per day or N6, 000 per month.
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"On feeding alone, a loaf of bread costs more than N200 in many parts of Nigeria while a plate of food, even from a road side food vendor, costs about the same amount,'' he said.
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Okidegbe said that the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan had undertaken some reform programmes in key sectors of the economy like agriculture to create jobs and reduce poverty.