General
Nigerians Not Poorer Under Buhari—FG
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Federal Government has stressed that Nigerians have not become poorer under the present administration of President Muhammadu Buhari as claimed by a recent report.
Few days ago, the World Data Lab in Vienna, Austria released a report titled World Poverty Clock, indicating that Nigeria has taken over India as the capital of poverty in the world with over 80 million Nigerians living in poverty.
The federal government, through the Ministry of Budget and National Planning, which is headed by Mr Udoma Udo Udoma, faulted the World Data Lab report.
In a statement released yesterday, the ministry said it would not accept the report because it was not properly conducted.
“The attention of the Ministry of Budget and Planning has been drawn to a recent publication on the World Poverty Clock by World Data Lab in Vienna, Austria, indicating that Nigeria’s poverty rating was getting worse.
The Ministry has reviewed this report and would like to assure Nigerians that the report is not based on any recent surveys of the poverty levels in Nigeria and cannot be relied upon as a factual indication of recent trends in Nigeria.
“The authors of the report claim that the Poverty Clock is an online analytical/visualization tool that shows the number of people living in extreme poverty worldwide and count(s) ‘excess’ poverty – the gap between the actual number who have escaped poverty since end-December 2015 and the hypothetical number of who should have escaped in order for the world to be on-track to reach the global target of ending poverty by 2030.
“It should be noted that in deriving its poverty estimates, the Poverty Clock does not, and in this case did not, directly rely on household survey data as national statistical offices in most countries do. Instead, as stated in their methodology, they rely on models to estimate poverty rates across countries using data provided by national governments to international agencies.
“The models make assumptions on expected future changes in income, IMF medium-term growth forecasts and long-term projections and analysis developed by the OECD, all of which are significantly influenced by uncertainty. It is, in essence, just a model based on a lot of assumptions which cannot substitute for field work involving actual data collected from households in a consistent and representative way.
“In the specific case of Nigeria, the Poverty Clock uses as baseline the General Household Survey which was not designed to measure poverty indicators accurately and follows a methodology that can be misleading if relied upon for poverty estimates.
“In line with extant laws, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) remains the statutory agency of government with responsibility for producing Nigeria’s official statistics, including poverty estimates. Like several other countries, Nigeria’s poverty estimates are obtained from the National Living Standard Survey (NLSS) undertaken every five years, and which was last conducted in 2010.
“While several other household surveys are routinely conducted by the NBS, none are as comprehensive as the NLSS, which is the appropriate household survey to determine poverty estimates. The next round of the NLSS is currently being undertaken by the NBS, in collaboration with the World Bank, and this will be concluded in 2019. There is currently no other comprehensive household study on current poverty trends in Nigeria.
“It is therefore pertinent to note that the World Poverty Clock is a model-based estimation of poverty, relying on projections and assumptions that cannot substitute for actual household survey approach which most countries adopt.
“This implies that it is not possible to conclude Nigerians poverty position until the NBS completes the NLSS, as no comprehensive field work has been done in Nigeria, and among Nigerian households, as is required according to standard international methodology.
“It is however important to point out that the Federal Government of Nigeria, in line with strategies outlined in the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), remains committed to promoting sustainable economic development through various social investment schemes that will yield positive impacts on poverty and unemployment; and will consequently change the trajectory of poverty in the country.
“Apart from the Social Investment Programme (SIP) which has engaged a lot of youths in entrepreneurial and skills training alongside the school feeding programme which has provided balanced meals for millions of school children, government believes that the fastest way to reduce the level of poverty and increase social inclusion is to create jobs.
“In the ERGP, this administration is committed to creating 15 million jobs in four years by 2020 by developing labour intensive sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing housing and construction.
“Government is also committed, and has been vigorously expanding public works in infrastructure, such as railways, roads and bridges, which is catalysing economic growth, as is evident from the turn-around in the GDP growth numbers.
“In order to support and encourage private sector investment, government has placed emphasis on Made-in-Nigeria products; and public procurement is focused on local content and labour-intensive production processes.
“Government is also enhancing the ease of doing business and tackling power challenges to attract private sector investment that will in turn create jobs and further reduce poverty levels across the country.
“The impact of these efforts, amongst others, will certainly translate to a reduction of the poverty levels in Nigeria. After emergence from recession in 2017 all major economic indices have turned positive in the last 12 months.
“We are therefore optimistic that any poverty survey carried out now will show that this administration is succeeding in turning around the negative trajectory that the economy had been on before we took over. And that this turnaround will succeed in lifting millions of Nigerians out of poverty,” the statement said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Former presidential candidates, Mr Peter Obi and Mr Atiku Abubakar, have expressed deep concerns over the rising frequency of petrol tanker explosions in Nigeria.
Both statesmen raised the worry following another tragic incident in Enugu that claimed 18 lives just a week after a similar explosion in Niger State killed nearly 100 people.
In a statement, Mr Obi described the recurring accidents as alarming, with at least three reported cases in the month of January 2025 alone, leading to significant loss of lives and property.
He emphasized the urgent need to prioritize safety by fixing Nigeria’s deteriorating roads, enforcing strict road safety measures, and educating citizens on protocols around accident scenes.
“My heart goes out to the families who have lost loved ones and the people of Enugu State over this terrible incident. May God grant eternal rest to the departed and quick healing to the injured,” Mr Obi said.
He also urged relevant authorities to take immediate action to prevent further tragedies, stressing that the safety and security of lives and property must remain paramount.
Similarly, former Vice President Atiku said the frequent petrol tanker explosions in the country have reached an emergency level and urged the government to establish an inquiry into the menace.
“Oh dear, not again! My thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of all the victims. May their souls find eternal rest. The incidents of tragic tanker explosions have reached emergency levels. It is time for the government to establish an inquiry into this issue,” Mr Atiku tweeted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Accidents involving fuel tanker trucks have become common in Nigeria, which authorities blame on bad roads and reckless driving, often with dozens of fatalities.
According to Mr Olusegun Ogungbemide, spokesperson of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), 10 people were rescued with different degrees of injuries and another three were unharmed, at the Enugu incident.
“Unfortunately, the remaining 18 victims were burnt beyond recognition,” said Mr Ogungbemide.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) will soon roll out an improved multi-purpose biometric identity card to facilitate interventions.
The Director General of NIMC, Mrs Abisoye Coker-Odusote, disclosed this at a media briefing on an improved NIN card in Abuja at the weekend, noting that the move is in collaboration with the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS).
Mrs Coker-Odusote said the new card programme aims to address multiple use cases of federal government and private sector interventions and is also targeted at addressing social and economic issues in the country, with the payment functionalities and identity as a foundation.
According to her, “The key features of this card, are the biometric, based on the fingerprint, which is the only one that is currently unique; the card has a long validity period because it’s also fully KYC enabled; it has an offline and online capability, which means in locations where there are limited access to internet, this card will still work and be used for those services that it’s designed to achieve.
“And you can meet out cash, digital tokens, wallet, and email and it also has some banking details inside the chip that enables the holder to perform every other thing that can be done with an ENV-enabled card.
“On the back, the card provides additional functionalities which enable Nigerians and those who are going to have access to it to be able to prove their identity at any point in time they are called to do that.”
The NIMC CEO further explained that the new multi-tasking card also facilitates the inclusion of citizens in the social and economic activities in the country.
She noted that the second programme of the card called the Government of People card (G2P) addresses the current need for the government and its agencies, and even private sectors, to be able to identify people who are providing such services in a very secure and verifiable manner.
This is expected to take care of challenges in terms of identifying the people who participate in government intervention programmes.
On the cost of issuance, she assured that the card would be made available to Nigerians at affordable cost, adding that the newly designed biometric card is designed to uplift 133 million Nigerians out of poverty and provide seamless services.
Providing an overview of the project, the Director of the Card Management team, Mr Peter Iwegbu, said in terms of benefit to the citizens, the card will provide instant evidential identification; it’s a 3-in-1 card, access to government services, self-identification of yourself, and access to financial transactions.
The card also provides the opportunity to track people identify them and verify them without having to wait for any electronic devices.
By Adedapo Adesanya
A pan-African initiative to support African health-tech startups to commercialise and scale their offerings, Investing in Innovation Africa (i3), has opened applications for its third cohort.
The initiative is funded by the Gates Foundation, with backing from MSD, Cencora, Endless Foundation, HELP Logistics–a subsidiary of the Kühne Foundation, Sanofi’s Global Health Unit and Chemonics.
The organisation will offer select startups three critical resources to prepare themselves for expansion: flexible grants, introductions to potential customers and tailored counsel to close partnership deals.
According to a statement, 15 leading startups will be selected for this cohort including 10 early-stage startups innovating in healthcare delivery or product distribution and five growth-stage startups building the future of pharmacy care.
Early-stage startups will receive a $50,000 grant and growth-stage startups will receive a $225,000 grant to unlock major partnerships that can expand patient access across the continent.
For startups in the cohort, i3 aims to facilitate at least 150 relationships with key healthcare organizations, worth at least $30M, which will expand patient access while creating valuable local jobs.
Entries for the 3rd cohort are open until February 28 after which the selected startups will be announced on April 30.
Launched in 2022, i3 has empowered 60 African health innovators across 16 countries, exceeding expectations with 43 per cent women-led and 20 per cent Francophone-led ventures.
The programme since then has provided $3 million in direct grants, and facilitated 450 strategic connections, resulting in over $11 million in contracted partnerships, expanded reach, and nearly 1,000 jobs created—half of which were held by women. i3 is coordinated by Salient Advisory and Solina Center for Research and Development (SCIDaR).
Speaking on this, Dr Uchenna Igbokwe, CEO, SCIDaR “With the right resources, African-led companies can scale commercially while reaching underserved communities and creating jobs. The i3 program has proved, in just two years, that an actively engaged network of leading global health institutions and partners can power African innovators to solve critical African problems in healthcare.”
On his part, Mr Oghenetega Iortim, CEO of Figorr, a company that provides end-to-end supply chain tracking technology and an i3 alumni, said, “We partnered with the Nigerian government to track over 200M health products. Through i3 we met with major global customers who were excited to find ways to expand Figorr’s impact both in Nigeria and beyond. We’re grateful to i3 for opening these doors.”
According to the statement, a virtual Q&A session will be hosted by i3 on February 21 to answer any questions regarding the application process. CcHUB and Villgro Africa will spearhead cohort selection, alongside a distinguished panel of African experts.
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