Reps plot to lift 16.5m people out of poverty
● set to ensure enrollment of 14m out-of-school children
By Jonas Happy
The House of Representatives says it is working on a save-the-people-plan that will give a new lease of life to poverty-stricken Nigerians.
Under the scheme conceived by the House, 16.5 million Nigerians who are currently living under the poverty line are to be targeted.
Statistics obtained from the National Bureau of Statistics which are available to the House show that the poverty level in the country has worsened.
The statistical data indicates that the Northeast leads in the poverty index. 71.86 percent of its population live in abject poverty.
It is followed by the Northwest with 64.84 percent, while the North Central has 42.70 percent.
Comparatively, when seen from a North-South perspective, the poverty level appears to be slightly lower in the South.
The figures reveal for instance, that 42.44% of the South East population live in poverty.
The South South accounts for 21.28% of the total population of Nigerians living in poverty while the South West, 12.12%.
The intervention planned by the House ahead of the budget which will be tabled by the Federal Government towards the end of this fiscal year would work on a framework that will achieve poverty reduction across board.
As part of the poverty reduction plan, four million people would be lifted out of poverty in the Northeast.
In the North West, 3.4m people will be targeted under the programme while 2.5 people would benefit in the North Central.
Out of the 16.5 million living below the poverty line that are being targeted across the country, only 6.7 people who are poor would be considered.
A breakdown of the figure shows that three million beneficiaries will be chosen from the South East, two point one million from the South South, and one point six million people from the South West.
In a related development, the House of Representatives is to ensure that over 14 million out-of-school Nigerian children return to school.
The House statement which was posted on ‘X’, formerly Twitter did not provide any breakdown.