BREAKING: 133 Million Nigerians Now Poor Under Buhari’s Govt–NBS Report

A Multi-dimensional Poverty Index released by the National Bureau of Statistics has put the number of poor Nigerians at 133 million.

Nigeria is home to over 200 million people and is the most populous in the continent.

Nigeria’s poverty level was projected to rise to 100 million by the end of 2022, according to the World Bank.

But NBS said on Thursday that the level exceeded the World Bank expectation.

President Muhammadu Buhari assumed office in 2015 with the promise to lift over 100 million out of poverty.

But the NBS said the 2016 recession and the Covid-19 pandemic impacted the fight against unemployment.

The Multi-dimensional Poverty Index covers health, education, living standard and work and shocks.

NBS said, “Sixty-three per cent of people -133 million are multi-dimensionally poor. The Nigerian MPI is 0.257, showing that the poor in Nigeria experienced just over one million-quarter of all possible deprivation.”

The NBS noted in the report that the poverty level in rural areas rose to 72 per cent, as against 42 per cent in urban areas.

“Approximately 70 peer cent of Nigeria’s population live in rural areas, yet these areas are home to 80 per cent of poor people; the intensity of rural poverty is also higher: 42 per cent in rural areas compared to 37 per cent in urban areas,” NBS said.

NBS said sixty five per cent of the people or 86 million live in the North, while 35 per cent of the poor, or 47 million live in the South.