Former Minister of State for Finance, Budget and National Planning, Clement Agba, has stated that the Federal Government is not to blame for the 133 million Nigerians currently living in multi-dimensional poverty.

Speaking in a video presentation shared on X by presidential aide, Bayo Onanuga, yesterday, Agba argued that the responsibility for lifting citizens out of poverty rested squarely with subnational governments, including state and local authorities.

According to Agba, who oversaw the 2022 National Multidimensional Poverty Index survey, clarified that while financial poverty affects those living below $2 a day, multidimensional poverty is defined by a lack of access to basic amenities.

He said: “The truth, from what the survey showed, is that the Federal Government has nothing to do with multi-dimensional poverty.

“I’ve seen a lot of people talk about this, that Buhari did increase the number of poor people in Nigeria, or President Tinubu has done so. It has nothing whatsoever.”

The former minister maintained that the core components of the poverty index, including basic education, primary healthcare, potable water, and sanitation, were constitutionally mandated to states and local governments, not the Presidency.

“Who in our Constitution is responsible for these things? Basic education? The sub-national government. Who’s responsible for basic health? Sub-national government. Who’s responsible for providing potable drinking water? Sub-national government. Who’s responsible for sanitation? Sub-national government. So why are we blaming the Federal Government of Nigeria?” the ex-minister quibbled.

Agba criticised state governors for concentrating resources in urban centres while neglecting the rural areas where the majority of the population resided.

He said: “Our governors, when they need the office, remember their entire state. They go around and campaign. But once they win, they allocate 80 per cent or so of their resources to the state capitals.

“If you have all the money in the world and you go to your community, and you fall ill at night and there is no one available, you are multi-dimensionally poor, even if you have ten million dollars in your pocket.”

Defending the current administration’s economic direction, Agba likened removing the fuel subsidy to a necessary medical procedure to save a dying patient.

He insisted that the pain Nigerians were currently experiencing was the prerequisite for a stable future.

Addressing the Open Government Partnership (OGP), Agba urged his successor and the Minister of Youth to ensure the initiative remained funded to foster transparency.