Edo emerges among six states least affected by poverty

Gov promises sustained investment in technology

Following OLLOWING multi-sectoral reforms implemented across various spheres of the state’s economy by the Governor Godwin Obaseki administration, Edo State has emerged as one of the six states in Nigeria that are least impacted by multidimensional poverty.

The data is contained in the 2021 Nigeria’s Multidimensional Poverty (MPI), released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), which states that multidimensional poverty affects not fewer than 133 million Nigerians, which represents 63 per cent of the country’s population.

In a statement, Special Adviser to the Governor on Media Projects, Crusoe Osagie, said Governor Obaseki’s reforms across critical sectors of the state’s economy, including education, healthcare, infrastructure, technology, entertainment, public service, agriculture, energy, hygiene and sanitation, entrepreneurship, contributed to the state’s impressive ranking in the report by NBS.  

Multidimensional poverty is a condition that takes a composite aggregate of a number of indicators that speaks to the deprivations of the poor in a society.

These indicators include nutrition, school attendance, water, housing materials, unemployment, underemployment, food security, years of schooling, water reliability, cooking fuel, time to healthcare, school lag, sanitation, assets and security shock. It provides a comprehensive view of the economic wellbeing of people in a state.

MEANWHILE, Obaseki, has said his government will, in 2023, support the takeoff of the permanent site for the Edo Tech Park and other skills development initiatives towards equipping youths with requisite skills to make the state the outsourcing capital of Africa.

Obaseki, while speaking to journalists in Benin City, said his administration would deploy technology to ensure its adoption across the service.

He said: “In 2023, we will continue to emphasise and invest in technology, which is why we hope to support the takeoff of the permanent site for the Edo Tech Park and other Skills Development Initiatives so as to equip our youths with requisite skills to make Edo State the outsourcing capital of Africa.”