The World Bank has revealed that over 70 million Nigerian
adults live in Poverty, with Jigawa state having the highest the
percentage of poor people.
World Bank Lead
Economist, Mr John Litwack, speaking at the media launch of the Nigeria
Economic Report (NER) on Monday in Abuja, stated that poverty rates
remain high particularly in rural area.
In the
report, it was noted that Lagos state had the lowest poverty rate of
22.9 per cent while Jigawa had the highest at 77.5 per cent. The report
further showed that poverty is concentrated more in the Northern part of
the country as against the South West where the rate of poverty is
lowest.
“Enhanced cooperation among the federal and
state governments can successfully address all these issues, thereby
unlocking enormous potential for growth, job creation, and improvement
in the welfare of Nigerian citizens,” the report said.
He
insisted that problems in government have hindered the ability of
Nigeria to translate its resource wealth into the infrastructure and
public services needed for a take-off into sustainable and diversified
growth.
Litwack said that to attract foreign
investors, it was important that government also tackle the problems of
market connectivity and infrastructural deficit.
“Investors with the potential to set up large scale operations and
create jobs will be reluctant to do so if they cannot service a large
market. Under these conditions, a number of Nigerian states have limited
opportunities to attract significant investors,” he said.
He
insisted that problems in government have hindered the ability of
Nigeria to translate its resource wealth into the infrastructure and
public services needed for a take-off into sustainable and diversified
growth.
Speaking at the launch, the World Bank
Country Director to Nigeria, Marie Francois Marie-Nelly, said there was
need by the government to begin to operate a more stable budget despite
volatility in oil prices worldwide.
She urged the government to create a conducive atmosphere for investment to thrive and “the private sector will come in.”
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