Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party
(LP), says issues responsible for the rising poverty rate in Nigeria are under
the “purview” of the federal government.
Obi spoke on Sunday while responding to questions during the
Arise TV presidential town hall series.
Last Wednesday, Clem Agba, minister of state for budget and
national planning, accused governors of giving more thought to flyovers and
airports than improving conditions in rural areas.
Agba said 72 percent of Nigeria’s poor citizens are in the
rural areas abandoned by the governors.
Responding to Agba’s comment, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum
(NGF) said the federal government’s inability to secure the country is
responsible for the rise in the poverty rate.
Speaking during the town hall, the former Anambra governor
said the issues of security and “fiscal viability” are responsibilities of the
federal government.
The LP presidential candidate said if the federal government
secures the country and provides an enabling environment for investors, the
poverty rate will reduce.
“Today, if you look
at what is causing the poverty level that we have; first, the issue of
security, it is the federal government — and the issue of fiscal viability, it
is the federal government,” he said.
“Most of the things causing poverty today reside in the
purview of the federal government. I’m going to deal with it.”
In November, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS)
announced that 133 million Nigerians are multidimensionally poor.
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