]The Federal Government on Wednesday said Sokoto state has the highest number of poor people in the country.
Clement Agba, Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, disclosed this Wednesday in Abuja while briefing newsmen shortly after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
According to him, a survey recently carried out ranked Bayelsa state as the second in poverty rating.
“In the past, we’ve always looked at monetary poverty. But poverty like we know has different pieces, different intensity and different causes. And it is for this reason, I went around the 109 senatorial districts in Nigeria, to carry out those surveys and to be able to say specifically, where this hardship is.
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“The result clearly shows that 72% of poverty is in the rural areas. It also showed clearly that Sokoto state is leading in poverty with 91%. But the surprising thing is Bayelsa being the second in terms of poverty rating in the country. So, you see the issue is not about availability of money. But it has to do with the application of money,” he said.
He said governors focused on building flyovers, airports and other projects that were visible in the state capitals rather than investing in areas that directly uplifted the standard of life of the people in the rural areas.
The minister said states which were in charge of land for agriculture had not invested in them for the desired effect on their rural citizens.
He advised governors to focus on initiatives that could pull the majority of the people out of poverty.
