The federal government has disclosed that Ondo State has the lowest poverty level in the country with 27 per cent.
The figure was presented during the launch of Nigeria’s Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) Survey in Abuja on Thursday.
The survey was conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the National Social Safety-Nets Coordinating Office (NASSCO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI).
According to the report, the measure used to calculate the figure was based on the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) with five components of health, living standard, education, security and unemployment.
The survey, which revealed that 63 per cent of persons within Nigeria, 133 million, are living in poverty, identified Sokoto State as having the highest poverty level among the states in the country with 91 percent while Ondo has the lowest with 27 percent.
This is even as the state also received an Award of Excellence on the World Bank’s States Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability (SFTAS) for being a very good performer on Fiscal Transparency and Accountability.
The award was received in Abuja at an event tagged, “Federal Government of Nigeria/World Bank States Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability (SFTAS) recognition dinner with Governors/Awards Night.”
Reacting to the development, Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, who spoke through his Chief Press Secretary, Richard Olatunde, said his administration has continued to prioritise the need to lift the people of the state out of poverty.
He noted that his administration’s programmes and policies are tailored towards addressing the needs of the people and providing succor for even generations unborn.
“It is clear from the measure used to calculate the figure which was based on Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) with five components of health, living standard, education, security and unemployment.
