FG, APC push 4 million more Nigerians into poverty.
2 min read
More hard times await Nigerians as about 4 more millions of them have been pushed into poverty across the country in the last six months. According to the statics released by the World Bank Group, the first six months of the year 2023 saw 4 million Nigerians captured by the global poverty index already in the poverty enclave. The group also warned that 7.1 million will also be included in the index if the fuel subsidy removal is not properly managed.
This revelation was made public a couple of weeks ago during the event of Nigeria Development Update in Abuja by the World Bank Group. The group’s lead economist in Nigeria Alex Sienaert disclosed thus.
“Without compensation, many households could be pushed into poverty by higher petrol prices and forced to resort to coping mechanisms with long-term adverse consequences, such as not sending children to school, or not going to health facilities to seek preventative healthcare.”
Already, the sudden and harsh removal of fuel subsidy by the APC led Federal Government of Nigeria has created a high level of untold hardship among the Nigerian people. From Umuaka Times investigations, many workers now have stopped going to work due to high cost of transport and many car and motorcycle owners have purchased bicycles as an alternative means of transportation.
The World Bank report further stated; “In the first part of 2023, Nigeria’s economic growth weakened, and real gross domestic product (GDP) growth fell from 3.3 per cent in 2022 to 2.4 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) in Q1 2023.”
The report continued. “The challenging global economic context has put pressure on Nigeria’s economy. However, domestic policies play the major role in determining Nigeria’s economic performance and resilience to further external shocks.”
Umuaka Times gathered that the report also confirmed that “The current move by the government to implement long-anticipated reforms such as the removal of costly and opaque petrol subsidy, and efforts to harmonize the multiple FX windows, are timely and crucial to set Nigeria on the path of economic growth.”
From all indications, all hopes may not be lost as the report also offered a ray of hope: “The removal of the petrol subsidy and the FX reforms have opened a window of opportunity that, if effectively seized by sustaining and building on these reforms, could have a transformative impact on the lives of millions of Nigerians and establish a solid foundation for sustained growth.”
