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Tag: Poverty

  • Poverty threatening Nigeria’s democracy – Dogara

    …Explains Why National Assembly Hasn’t Transmitted Constitution Amendment Bills To State Legislatures

    …Says National Assembly members are not Abuja Politicians

    …As State legislatures promise speedy consideration

    Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Yakubu Dogara, has said that extreme poverty is threatening Nigeria’s democracy.

    Speaking when he received a delegation from the Conference of Speakers of Nigerian State Legislatures, led by Hon Ismaila Abdulmumin Kamba, in his office on Wednesday, Hon. Dogara, noted that there is the urgent need for governments at all levels to put the citizens on the path of prosperity in order to save the country’s democracy.

    To achieve this, he said, State Houses of Assembly will have to work hard to improve their monitoring of state funds to ensure that they are properly utilised for the betterment of their people as doing this will help lift the vast population of the people from poverty.

    He stated, “We know that if something has to be done at the level of government that will translate into a better life of our people, it must begin from the local government level, at the state level, and then before we even talk about the federal level.”

    The speaker, however, advised that while they should be fearless in carrying out their responsibilities, they should oversight their state executives without being combative.

    “In democracy, we worship no one, we should fear only God but we respect men.

    When you have a parliament that only responds to the demands of the executive, there is no way we can make progress. We have to carry out our responsibilities without having any fear at all,” he stated.

    “The promise of democracy is basically life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It, therefore, means that if a citizen is poor, he is excluded from the promise of democracy. He may have a life but as a matter of fact, his kind of life is even worse than death. So poverty tends to becloud someone’s sense of reasoning and imagination.”

    “That is why even at the level of the United Nations, a day has been set aside to talk about the elimination of extreme poverty which excludes citizens of democracy from the promise of democracy and that promise is the pursuit of happiness. If you are poor, you may not have a life and even if you have a life, it may not be desirable. A poor man is not free, you know that very well except you have not tasted poverty. So completely, you are eliminated from the promise of democracy.”

    The Speaker, therefore, called on the state MPs to utilise the opportunity in the proposed amendments to approve financial autonomy for state legislatures and local governments councils in order to free themselves from the reins of state executives and strengthen their roles of oversight.

    He also explained the delay in the transmission of the Constitution Amendment Bills recently passed by both chambers of the National Assembly to state MPs, saying it is as a result of ongoing consultations between the two Houses to harmonised all areas of differences in order to produce a uniform document.

    Condemning the use of the term “Abuja politicians” to describe federal legislators, he noted that most of their work at the federal level is primarily for the development of the grassroots where most of their voters reside.

    “At the federal level, whatever we do kind of translate into an impact at the local level where a majority of our people live. As a matter of fact, I find it very funny, if not offensive, that some people refer to some of us as Abuja politicians as if we were voted for here in Abuja. Not minding that our people are there, our brother here who is from Bauchi State knows the kind of struggle we go through during elections. So, as far as I am concerned, it beats my imagination when someone refers to a legislator as an Abuja politician,” he explained.

    Earlier, chairman of the Conference of Speakers of Nigerian State Legislatures., Hon Ismaila Abdulmumin Kamba, said they were waiting anxiously for the constitution amendment bills to be transmitted to them for consideration and passage.

    He said, “We at the Conference of Speakers are ready to do justice to these issues. We have already concluded that whatever you will transmit to us, we will carry our strata and groups along and agree that whatever the majority may agree on will be carried.”

  • Poverty not excuse for committing crimes — cleric

    Rev. Emmanuel Adeniyi of the Banner of Christ Church, Adegbayi, Ibadan, says poor living standard arising from poverty, should not be an excuse for anybody to commit crime or sin against God.

    He gave the warning in his sermon on Sunday in Ibadan and expressed concern over increase in the crime rate across the country, especially among people that claimed to be Christians.

    “It is disheartening when you read newspapers or listen to radio and heard Christian names arrested for involving in criminal activities.

    “Some of them would say hunger or lack of money made them to steal, involve in one crime or the other.

    “Such excuse can never be tenable before God, there is no waiver to the ten commandments of God and whoever that steals, fornicates or involves in any criminality is of Satan,’’ he stated.

    The cleric called on Christians to uphold the tenets of Christianity, shun evil deeds, love one another and seek the kingdom of God.

    He charged Christians to be hard working in their respective places of work and urged jobless ones to engage in meaningful ventures.

    Adeniyi further admonished Christians to beware of fake prophets, saying the agents of Satan were everywhere to deceive people.

  • Poverty, hunger are reasons behind several agitations in Nigeria – Peter Obi

    Poverty, hunger are reasons behind several agitations in Nigeria – Peter Obi

    A former governor of Anambra State, Mr Peter Obi, has identified poverty and hunger as main causes of agitations by ethnic groups in Nigeria.

    Obi said this in Calabar during the 7th lecture organised by the Bridge Leadership Foundation, a non-profit organisation founded by a former governor of Cross River State, Senator Liyel Imoke.

    The foundation was established in 2011 by Imoke to inculcate entrepreneurial skills in young citizens.

    The theme for the 2017 edition was ‘Made in Nigeria: Local production, global market.’

    Obi, who spoke on the topic, ‘Leadership and Integrity,’ said that some of the agitations across the country had gone beyond control because Nigeria lacked visionary leaders.

    He cited Boko Haram in the North-East, militancy in the Niger-Delta, the Independent People of Biafra in the South-East and farmers/herdsmen clash as some of the challenges facing the country today.

    Obi said, “Nigeria has the resources and potentials of becoming the greatest country in the world; but, the country lacks visionary leaders.

    “Today, we have different forms of agitations in Nigeria because the people are poor and hungry. The leaders have lost touch with the led.”

    He commended Imoke for sustaining the foundation for seven years, adding that capacity building for youths was one of the ways of curbing youth unemployment in the country.

    Earlier, Imoke said the objective of the foundation was to groom and encourage youths to take leadership role and have the basic knowledge of becoming entrepreneurs.

    “The foundation provides a valuable platform for young people to be inspired by the success stories of youths in Africa, particularly in Nigeria, who are scaling the huddles and challenges of growing up.” he said.

  • Lagos inaugurates Ibile Microfinance Bank, reinstates commitment to poverty alleviation

    The Lagos State Government on Friday inaugurated its microfinance bank, restating its avowed commitment to poverty reduction and employment generation in the state.

    The Commissioner for Finance, Mr Akinyemi Ashade, gave the assurance at the official unveiling of Ibile Microfinance Bank at its head office situated at No. 121, Obafemi Awolowo Way, Ikeja.

    He said the bank was set up to boost micro, small and medium enterprises and generate employment for the people.

    “The state government will make loans available to residents who plan to go into small-scale businesses, but lack the necessary capital to do so.

    “Ibile MFB will galvanise activities in the MSME sector and allow more people to go into businesses to ultimately reduce unemployment and poverty,” Ashade said.

    Earlier, the Chairman of the bank, Mr Kolawole Taiwo, said the Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode-led administration was committed to improving the standards of living of the people and ensuring the delivery of dividends of democracy.

    Taiwo, the immediate past Deputy Speaker of the State House of Assembly, said creating access to loans would boost entrepreneurial activities in the state.

    He said:“Ibile is the main disbursement vehicle to the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF) which was established by Ambode with N25 billion over four years.

    “This is to finance 100,000 businesses under the micro and small and Medium Enterprises.

    “Today marks another milestone in our state and we will do the job with all seriousness to provide leadership to others in this sector.

    “We must also note that microfinance banks such as Ibile exist to fill the vacuum that traditional/commercial banks cannot fill in terms of providing capital and credit facilities to MSMEs.”

    Also speaking, the Managing Director of IBILE MFB, Mr Adegboyega Kazeem, highlighted the bank’s products and services geared toward the economic development of the state.

    Kazeem, who noted that the bank was an opportunity for the people of the state to start or grow their businesses, added that the bank was prepared to come to the rescue of MSMEs in the state.

    “We have mandate to provide essential banking services and make loans available to residents and small businesses owners in the state.

    “As a corporate entity, our utmost priority is to provide value-added services to the people of the state,” he said.

    According to him, Ibile is partnering with the Central Bank of Nigeria on the N220 billion Micro, Small, Medium Enterprises Development Fund to enable it to disburse low interest loans to qualified MSMEs.

    He added that the bank was also partnering with the Bank of Industry and other intervention funds both foreign and domestic to increase access to finance and capital by MSMEs.

     

     

    NAN

  • Poverty grows with population in Nigeria – Dangote

    Poverty grows with population in Nigeria – Dangote

    The President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote has raised concern over the growing rate of unemployment in Nigeria, a situation he said makes him lose his sleep at nights.

    Dangote said this when a team of business executives from Lagos Business School (LBS), visited his multi-billion dollars refinery and petrochemical projects in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos.

    “What keeps me awake at nights is not really the enormity of business ideas running through my mind, but it is actually high rate of unemployment in the country.

    ‘It is an eyesore and I think we have collective responsibility to solve this problem”, Nation quoted him as saying.

    Dangote noted that the nation’s growing population should have been a blessing if the youth energy is harnessed to drive growth, but regretted that poverty increases with the population.

    “The more poverty that you have in a society without education, the more criminals you breed.

    “It is surprising that poverty grows in this country as population grows, especially in the North where you have low income families bearing score of children they cannot cater for”, he added.

    Dangote said it was not the duty of government to create jobs, stressing that creation of enabling environment for entrepreneurs to thrive should be the focus of any government.

    Africa’s richest man said developed economies were not created by the government, but private sector which acts as drivers of growth and development.

    He linked insurgency and militancy to unemployment, saying criminality would fester in a society where government does not encourage entrepreneurs to create jobs.

     

  • Poverty, hunger responsible for Boko Haram, Niger Delta agitation – Osinbajo

    Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has attributed the agitation and social tension in the country primarily to hunger and poverty.

    Osinbajo said this while declaring open the Nigerian Association of Law Teachers (NALT) conference at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UniZik), Awka, on Monday.

    He said that political leaders across the country had failed to distribute equitably the resources accruing to their areas from the centre for the good of the people.

    “Most of the security problems of the nation are self-inflicted through corrupt practices.

    “The Boko Haram in the North-East, militants in the Niger Delta, herdsmen and farmers clashes are as a result of poverty.

    “A lot of this agitations are centred around the failure of the state to create an inclusive society.

    “Constant agitation for national resources is a product of individual deprivation and this was taken up by ethnic nationalities as group agitation.

    “Political elites who failed the people by embezzling their funds, are at the forefront of these agitations because they make it look as if the problem is because of ethnic nationality,” he said.

    Osinbajo, who said he had been a teacher of law since 1981, charged the law teachers to brainstorm on the principles of the law and proffer ways to make it strong.

    He said they should find solutions to the problem of protracted litigation involving corruption cases.

    Osinbajo said that the delay in concluding such cases was the handiwork of Nigerian lawyers, adding that the tactics was robbing the legal profession some measure of credibility.

    “I found no reason why it is easier to prove the case of a man who stole small amount of money than the case of a civil servant who earns, say, N200,000 a month in whose account is found billions of Naira.

    “Why does it take so long to convict a man in whose account as a civil servant, is found billions of Naira? We must re-define the offence of corruption because it is worse than homicide.”

    The Acting President described the conference theme `Law, Security and National Development’ as apt, saying that it reflects the challenges of the country at the moment.

    “You should pay more attention to what goes on in the judiciary and engage the government because that is why they are thinkers,” he said.

    In his remark, Chief Justice of the Federation, Hon. Justice Walter Onnoghen, said that laws had a big role to play in achieving the highest level of security for individuals in any society.

    Onnoghen, who was the Chairman of the occasion, was represented by Hon. Justice Amina Augie, a Justice of the Supreme Court.

    He said it was necessary for the existing laws to be efficient with the right attitude to their implementation.

    Earlier, Prof Joseph Ahaneku, UniZik Vice Chancellor, said that NALT should maintain the unity that had bound the members for over 50 years.

     

     

     

    NAN

  • Wealth of 5 richest Nigerians can end extreme poverty – Report

    The Inequality report released by Oxfam International on Wednesday, revealed that the combine wealth of five richest Nigerians, put at $29.9 billion, could end extreme poverty in the country.

    The report, entitled ‘Inequality in Nigeria, Exploring the Drivers’ and obtained in Abuja, exposed the large and growing gap between the rich and poor in Nigeria.

    It revealed that the benefits of the nation’s economic growth had been captured by a few wealthy elite at the expense of the ordinary Nigerians.

    According to the report, the economic inequality is a key factor in the conflict in the North-Eastern states of the country.

    Oxfam International also disclosed that Nigeria’s richest man earned 8,000 times more in one day than a poor Nigerian would spend on basic needs in a year.

    It said that more than 112 million people were living in poverty in Nigeria, yet the country’s richest man spent one million dollars a day for 42 years to exhaust his fortune.

    According to the report, Nigeria is one of the few countries where the number of people living in poverty is on the increase despite the growth of the economy.

    The report also indicated that 69 per cent of people now live below the poverty line in North-Eastern states, compared to the 49 per cent in the South-West.

    It also showed that women were not being captured on the benefits of economic growth because they tended to be employed in low-skilled, low-paid informal jobs.

    According to the organisation, women represent between 60 per cent and 79 per cent of Nigeria’s rural labour force but are five times less likely to own their own land than men.

    It further stated that women were also less likely to have had a decent education, noting that over three quarters of the poorest women in Nigeria had never been to school.

    The report said that poor people did not benefit from Nigeria’s wealth because of high level of corruption and the excessive influence big business and some wealthy elite had over government and policy making.

    According to the report, public office holders steal estimated 20 trillion dollars from the treasury between 1960 and 2005, while multinational companies receive tax incentives estimated at 2.9 billion dollars a year.

    This development it said was three times more than Nigeria’s entire health budget.

    It further revealed that small and medium size businesses and workers in the informal sector, however, faced multiple taxes.

    “Despite being Africa’s biggest economy, the share of the national budget allocated to education, health and social protection is one of the lowest in the region.

    “In 2012, Nigeria spent just 6.5 per cent of its national budget on education and just 3.5 per cent on health.

    “By comparison, Ghana spent 18.5 per cent and 12.8 per cent, respectively in 2015.

    ‘’As a result, 57 million Nigerians lack safe water, over 130 million lack adequate sanitation and the country has more than 10 million children out of school.“ it stated.

    Commenting on the report, Mr Celestine Odo, Good Governance Programme Coordinator for Oxfam in Nigeria, said extreme inequality was undermining the economy and fermenting social unrest.

    According to him, Nigerian leaders must be more determined to tackling this terrible problem.

    Odo said that it was an irony that Nigerians were living in poverty in spite the abundance of wealth in the country.

    He said it was important to free millions of Nigerians from poverty by building a new political and economic system that would work for everyone and not just a fortunate few.

    “The government can make a start by tackling corruption, ensuring big business and wealthy individuals pay their fair share of tax, investing in vital public services, and protecting the rights of women,” Odo said.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that Oxfam is an international confederation of 20 NGOs working with partners in over 90 countries to end the injustices that cause poverty.

  • We’ll do our bit to ensure famine, poverty is kicked out of Nigeria – World Bank, IMF

    We’ll do our bit to ensure famine, poverty is kicked out of Nigeria – World Bank, IMF

    The World Bank and International Monetary Fund, IMF on Thursday said it will do everything possible to ensure famine and poverty is kicked out of Nigeria especially the Boko Haram crisis riddled North-East region.

    The President of World Bank, Jim Yong Kim said this in his opening remarks at the ongoing World Bank/International Monetary Fund (IMF) spring meetings in Washington DC.

    He assured that the World Bank was deploying tools and financial support required to respond to the famine plaguing the region and some other countries across the globe.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that the devastation by Boko Haram has left nearly five million people in the North-East region desperately hungry and risk starving to death, according to figures from the United Nations.

    UN also describes the current wave of famine as the worst in 70 years.

    The World Bank chief lamented that “the world was caught unprepared” by the situation in Nigeria and some other countries.

    In his words: “Too often, we forget about crises as soon as they abate – leading to a cycle of panic and neglect. We’re already working with the affected countries and partners to respond to the famine – and we will use every tool we have, financial and advisory, to prevent famine in the future.

    “This won’t be easy. It will require agreement across the entire international development finance system – multilaterals and bilaterals – to move the global development architecture in this direction,” Kim said.

    He continued: “We are encouraged to see stronger economic prospects after years of disappointing global growth. There are still many downside risks, however, and countries that have the fiscal space need to continue with structural reforms. This is vital to accelerating the sustainable and inclusive economic growth needed to end extreme poverty by 2030.

    “We’re meeting at a time when we face several overlapping crises, both natural and man-made, all of which add urgency to our mission. We have to find new and innovative ways to reach the poor, and make the world more secure and stable. Last week at the London School of Economics, I outlined how we’re working to change our approach.

    “We have to start by asking whether the private sector can finance a project. If the conditions aren’t right, we will work with our partners to de-risk that project or, if needed, de-risk entire countries or sectors. Here’s the good news: There’s never been a better time to find those win-win solutions.

    “There are trillions of dollars sitting on the sidelines, earning little interest, and investors are looking for better returns. That capital should be mobilised to help us meet the exploding aspirations of people all over the world. And with the crises we face, our task is much more urgent than we ever thought.”

    Kim said one of the things that the Bank found was that foreign direct investment often had much higher impact, much stronger impact on improving institutions and government than aid to low income and under-developed countries.

    “This is why we’re trying to bring together the financing we provide to governments and also the financing that comes from the private sector to create better institutions, more investment, more jobs, more economic growth in a much more synergistic way”, he said.

    In her address, Managing Director of the IMF, Christine Lagarde urged Nigeria and other low income countries to step up research and development, innovation, revisit housing policies in their countries in order to drive sustainable growth.

    “Stronger cooperation across counties would help reduce external imbalances, clamp down on excessive tax evasion and avoidance and would help deliver the Sustainable Development Goals so that the low income countries can also reap the benefits of improved productivity,” Lagarde added.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun is also attending the World Bank/International Monetary Fund (IMF) spring meetings in Washington DC.

  • Nigerians are hungry, poverty is evident everywhere – Dogara

     

    …inaugurates technical team to end recession

    The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara has said the current economic crisis experienced in the country is becoming unbearable for some Nigerians as they find it difficult to feed and carry out their basic day-to-day responsibilities.

    However, as part of plans to make life better for ordinary Nigerians, the Speaker on Tuesday inaugurated a technical committee on Economic Recession.

    The committee, comprising of 16 erudite professionals with vast experience in economics and sundry issues, is to monitor the various steps and policies of the Government aimed at taking Nigeria out of recession.

    While delivering a speech during the inauguration at the National Assembly, Dogara said the technical committee of the House will craft “enduring legislative tools to be deployed in helping policy makers and implementors adhere to timelines in their drive to exit recession and return Nigeria to sustainable economic growth and prosperity.”

    He expressed dismay that, “some of our people can no longer afford to feed. Some school children are dropping out of school due to inability of parents to pay school fees. Transportation, power, healthcare are difficult for the ordinary citizens. There is general anguish on the faces of Nigerians due to poverty and hunger.

    “We cannot, however, continue to lament. The problems are well known. At this point in time, it is the solutions that matters more and that is what should engage our attention. As a parliament, we are committed to ensuring that the sufferings experienced by ordinary Nigerians are alleviated.

    “These challenges may appear too difficult to surmount but the good news is that they are surmountable. Other nations have surmounted greater economic challenges in the past and Nigeria’s case cannot be different.”

    The Speaker noted that what Nigeria needed at this point in time was solutions to the problems of the economy and added that, “as a parliament, we are committed to ensuring that the sufferings experienced by ordinary Nigerians are alleviated.

    “These challenges may appear too difficult to surmount but the good news is that they are surmountable. Other nations have surmounted greater economic challenges in the past and Nigeria’s case cannot be different.

    “We in the National Assembly have aligned with the executive arm of government to turn around the economy by focusing on priorities that will make maximum impact on economic recovery and respectable growth.

    “As partners in progress, the National Assembly had in 2016 offered wide ranging legislative and other economic ideas and solutions to the Executive in a concurrent Resolution of both Chambers. Senate Resolution (S/Res./018/02/16) and House Resolution (HR.107/2016) refers.”

    He recalled that the decision to partner with the executive to tackle the recession was in line with keeping with his promise during the inauguration of this 8th Assembly on the 9th of June, 2015, when he said, “we as a parliament can only justify the confidence of our people by keeping faith with our duties of Law making, Representation and Oversight of the Executive arm of government.

    “However, in spite of our responsibility for checking and balancing the Executive, good governance can only be effected when all arms of government are working in harmony and partnership to bring about the CHANGES voted for by Nigerians on March 28, 2015”.

    “In a similar vein, we affirmed that the centre point of our legislative agenda will be to collaborate with the various arms of government and the Senate to legislate for the common good of the Nigerian citizens with emphasis on reforms that will promote rapid national economic growth and development, tackle poverty, unemployment…. Indeed our major legislative initiative was to support diversification of Nigeria’s economy to foster its development from mono product economy to an economy with a diversified base.

    “To this end, we introduced Sectoral Debate on various aspects of the economy as a legislative initiative to address the national economic problems”, he added.

     

  • U.S. supports Nigeria with additional $227.3 to fight poverty

    In fulfillment of its promise to support the country to eradicate poverty to the barest minimum, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has announced 227.3 million dollars (about N71.5 billion) additional developmental assistance to support the five-year 2.3 billion dollars agreement signed with the Federal Government in 2015.

    The U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Stuart Symington, made the announcement in a statement issued to newsmen on Tuesday in Abuja.

    He said that the 227.3 million dollars had brought the total provision under the agreement to 702 million dollars.

    According to him, the additional funding is intended to help Nigeria reduce extreme poverty by stimulating inclusive economic growth, promote healthier, more-educated population, and strengthen good governance.

    “We are pleased to announce new funding under the agreement signed with the Nigerian government in 2015 to provide better access to education and health services and promote democracy and economic growth

    “We know this funding will significantly improve the well-being of Nigerians,” Symington said.

    He said that USAID would collaborate with some federal and state ministries to structure the agreement, which would run through 2020.

    He listed the federal ministries to include Budget and National Planning, Health, Agriculture, Power and Education.

    The envoy said that the U.S. was also providing humanitarian assistance to people affected by the Boko Haram crisis and food insecurity in the North East and the Lake Chad Basin.

    He said that the U.S. provided more than 291 million dollars in humanitarian assistance to Nigeria in 2016, adding that his country remains the single largest bilateral humanitarian donor to Nigeria.