‘National debt burden spikes by 300% in a decade’

65% of poor live in North, report says
An analysis of Nigeria’s Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) by ActionAid Nigeria has revealed that 65 per cent of poor people, about 86 million people, live in the Northern part of the country, while 36 per cent, which is nearly 47 million people live in the South.

The analysis further indicated that the poorest states in the country are Sokoto, Bayelsa, Jigawa, Kebbi, Gombe and Yobe, but couldn’t determine the poorest from the lot.

The organisation disclosed this at the launch of its report on Austerity Measure, Poverty and Gender Inequality in Nigeria, yesterday, in Abuja, saying that Nigeria’s MPI for 2022 found that 63 per cent of the population, amounting to approximately 133 million Nigerians is multidimensional poor.

Analysing the report, the Country Director of ActionAid, Andrew Mamedu, noted that poverty and inequality do not just happen. He noted that they result from economic, social and political decisions made by the state and citizens.

He said: “The critical policy decisions reflected in the key macroeconomic indicators show the rate and trend of poverty and inequality. Extant Nigerian negative indicators on Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth, inflation, interest rate, unemployment, debts and deficits, among others, can only lead to one direction, increased poverty.”

Mamedu further stated that the underlying cause of the current spate of poverty is rooted in the heavy burden of austerity measures, imposed as part of broader macroeconomic policies.

He disclosed that based on their research, from 2010 to 2020, Nigeria’s debt stock ballooned by over 300 per cent, reaching a staggering ₦31 trillion by the end of 2020 and as of  March 31, 2024, debt stock stands at  $91,463.99, the equivalent of N121, 670.49 trillion, consuming 74 per cent of government revenue and leaving little for vital sectors such as education, healthcare, and social protection.

Mamedu pointed out that keeping large numbers of people excluded from access to economic resources, employment, healthcare, adequate food, clean water and sanitation, education, skills, and technology, will result in a reduction of future productive human potential.

The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Atiku Bagudu, who was represented by the Director of Microeconomics, Philip Okwonkwo, wondered if poverty and inequality could be tackled at the same time.

He maintained that the issue of poverty is a global phenomenon, as it’s not unique to Nigeria and Africa alone, harping on the need for stakeholders to collaborate in empowering the poor people in the society.