The report that the Federal Government, yesterday admitted to Nigeria’s status as the poverty capital of the world, when it disclosed that 133 million of its citizens are currently living in poverty is one of the trending stories in Nigerian newspapers on Friday.
The Guardian reports that the Federal Government, yesterday, admitted to Nigeria’s status as the poverty capital of the world, when it disclosed that 133 million of its citizens are currently living in poverty.
This figure represents 63 per cent of its population living in poverty, according to a survey conducted by National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), National Social Safety-Nets Coordinating Office (NASSCO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI).
Recall that in 2016, World Bank in its survey rated Nigeria the poverty capital of the world, displacing India from the infamous apex. The bank stated that four in every 10 Nigerians live below the poverty line of $1.9 per day, while the number of poor people in India was pegged at 269.8 million, 21.9 per cent of the population.
In its latest National Multidimensional Poverty Index Report unveiled yesterday, NBS said 63 per cent of Nigerians are poor due to a lack of access to health, education and living standards, alongside unemployment and shocks.
Nigeria’s Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) survey was launched in Abuja with President Muhammadu Buhari represented by his Chief of Staff, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari.
President Buhari said the index was adopted because it provides ways poverty could be identified and addressed with government policies.
The MPI offers a multivariate form of poverty assessment, identifying deprivations across health, education, living standards, security, unemployment and shocks.
According to the Statistician-General at NBS, Semiu Adeniran, it is the first time NBS will conduct a standard multidimensional poverty survey in Nigeria.
The report said: “Over half of the population of Nigeria are multidimensionally poor and cook with dung, wood or charcoal, rather than cleaner energy. High deprivations are also apparent nationally in sanitation, time to healthcare, food insecurity and housing.
“In general, the incidence of monetary poverty is lower than the incidence of multidimensional poverty across most states. In Nigeria, 40.1 per cent of people are poor according to the 2018/19 national monetary poverty line, and 63 per cent are multidimensionally poor according to the National MPI 2022.”
The United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Matthias Schmale, who revealed the findings from the report said that 63 per cent of Nigerians being multidimensionally poor means that they are being derived in more than one dimension of the four measured.
The newspaper says that the United States (U.S.) has threatened sanctions, including visa restrictions, on anyone who interferes with the democratic process or instigates violence in the 2023 general elections.
U.S. also threw its weight behind the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deploy the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and electronic transmission of results for the poll.
Political Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria, Rolf Olson, gave the warning on behalf of the U.S. government at the Hubert Humphrey Fellowship Alumni Association Annual Seminar on ‘Promoting Electoral Integrity in Nigeria: Prospects and Challenges’ in Abuja yesterday.
Olson, however, maintained that U.S. does not have a candidate in the upcoming elections, while it supports all efforts to ensure the integrity of 2023 elections.
Recall that the U.S. government had imposed visa restriction on some individuals for their actions during the November 2019 Kogi and Bayelsa elections and in the run-up to the September and October 2020 Edo and Ondo elections.
Although U.S. did not reveal the identities of those who have been banned, it said the decision reflects its commitment to strengthening democracy in Nigeria.
On the 2023 elections, Olson said: “The United States does not support any individual candidate or party in this election cycle. Our interest is in supporting credible and transparent elections that reflect the will of Nigerian voters, in a process that is conducted peacefully. Full stop.
“Individuals seeking to undermine the democratic process, including through violence, may be found ineligible for visas to the United States. We have imposed visa restrictions in the past against those responsible for, or complicit in, undermining the democratic process, and remain fully willing to do so again in the context of the upcoming elections.”
He advised parties, candidates and their supporters to avoid language that tries to “guarantee” victory, adding that there is no true democratic election in which the outcome is foretold.
INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, disclosed that 176,846 BVAS would be deployed to all polling units in the country, adding that the Commission will make available at least two BVAS devices as backup to each of the 8,809 registration areas.
The Punch reports that the endless depreciation of the naira and the rising inflation have eroded Nigerian workers’ N24.88tn salary received in the first six months of 2022.
The salaries of workers in the Nigerian formal sector increased from N21.80tn in the first six months of 2021 to N24.88tn in the corresponding period of 2022.
This represents a N3.08tn increase within the period. But when adjusted for inflation, the National Bureau of Statistics recent data on employees’ compensation revealed that there was only a N550.97bn increase.
This means that not only was the N3.08tn increase in salary eroded, the total salary of nearly N25tn also depreciated.
A further dive into the data revealed that the compensation of employees at 2010 purchaser’s value was N10.71tn in the first six months of 2021, which marginally increased to N11.26tn in the corresponding period of 2022.
Explaining compensation of employees, the NBS said, “This consists of the total remuneration of employees in the formal sector, including both wages and salaries, and benefits in kind (such as pensions).”
It added, “In Q1 and Q2 2022, compensation of employees grew by 6.48 per cent and 3.93 per cent respectively in real terms year on year.
The newspaper says that the Central Bank of Nigeria has instructed commercial banks in the country to work on Saturdays till January 31, 2023, to enable bank customers to return old naira notes for new ones.
The CBN had announced plans to redesign, produce, release, and circulate new series of banknotes on December 15, 2022.
Speaking at the CBN fair in Ilorin, Kwara State capital on Thursday, Director, Corporate Communications Department of the apex bank, Mr. Osita Nwasinobi, said that the new and existing currencies would remain legal tenders and circulate together until January 31, 2023, when the existing current shall cease to be legal tenders in Nigeria.
The CBN Fair is themed, “Promoting financial stability and economic development.”
Represented by Acting Director, Corporate Communications, CBN, Akpama Uket, the director said that Deposit Money Banks had been directed to immediately start returning the existing currencies to the CBN.
“They have also been instructed to receive the existing banknotes beyond the threshold stipulated by the Cashless Policy without charges to customers.
“Consequently, you must return all the current N200, N500, and N1,000 banknotes to your bank before the expiration of the deadline.”
The CBN boss said the purpose of redesigning naira notes was to achieve macroeconomic stability, noting that the efforts entailed building a strong, stable, and resilient economy that would be self-sustaining and able to weather unanticipated shocks.
“This, the bank will do by applying appropriate monetary policy tools, striving to rein in inflation, and continuously encouraging a productive economy through its interventions,” he said.
He also warned Nigerians of the consequences of mishandling of naira notes, saying that, “Let me also reiterate the need to handle the Naira with care. The Naira remains a symbol of our national pride. Treat it with utmost dignity. Do not spray, squeeze or counterfeit the Naira, as default goes with consequences,” he said.
GIK/APA