Disturbed by the poor living conditions of Nigerians, the International Organisation for Food, Shelter and Empowerment (IOFSE) has charged the next set of leaders that would emerge from this year’s general elections to urgently tackle the prevalent poverty and deprivation in the country.
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The Executive Director, Amb.Declan Okwudiri Oguine, made the appeal yesterday in Ideato, Imo State when addressing a public meeting about the 2023 elections.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) had, in November 2022, said 133 million Nigerians, representing 63 per cent of the population, were multi-dimensionally poor.

It noted that the disturbing development was engendered by a lack of access to health, and education, dismal living standards, unemployment and insecurity.

According to the World Bank, Nigeria’s poverty level exceeds global projections and had described the most populous black nation as the poverty capital of the world.

Throwing more light on the poverty level in the country and interventions of the global organisation in a statement, Oguine said although they have no interest in partisan politics, he noted, however, that IOFSE was purely concerned about the needlessly miserable situation in Nigeria, adding that with the huge human and material resources the country is blessed with, Nigerians have no reason to be suffering.

He regretted that successive administrations have failed to address poverty, and unemployment and provide shelter, quality education and other basic things of life.
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The IOFSE Executive Director, however, acknowledged that there have been laudable attempts by a few ministries and agencies in the past and now to tackle the issues, albeit unsuccessful.

He, therefore, submitted that in spite of the campaign promises, the incoming President, governors and lawmakers at all levels should prioritise poverty and empowerment.

His words: “What we believe at IOFSE is that ending poverty, which means crafting and deploying policies that would empower the people to make them self-sufficient and capable of employing others, should be the number one concern of the incoming administration at all levels.

“The above should be seen as an emergency because almost all aspects of governance are tied around poverty and deprivation. Deprivation and the pressure that come with it is one of the major causes of insecurity and crimes.

Noting that the brainstorming session coincided with the organisation’s yearly distribution of palliatives and empowerment, Oguine stated that it has become inevitable to donate food, materials shelter and money for the empowerment of individuals and communities to alleviate the sufferings in the land.

“Within the Yuletide alone, we distributed 650 bags of rice, cooking items and cash for empowerment in the Ideato community alone. We did the same in some other parts of Imo State. We have sent many students to top-class universities in Nigeria and abroad, especially on science and technology, as well as constructing technical colleges to equip young people with the necessary skills to face the future,” he added.

He urged the people to pick up their permanent voter cards (PVCs) and vote wisely during the elections.

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