‘89m Nigerians are now living in extreme poverty’

An International non-governmental organisation, Global Citizen, has called on the Nigerian government, private sector and all stakeholders to intensify efforts at reducing poverty across the country, saying 89 million out of the nation’s 200 million citizens are living in extreme poverty currently.

Speaking during a launch to eradicate poverty in Nigeria, the co-founder of Global Citizen, Michael Sheldrick, said Nigeria tops the list of African countries where rates of poverty are increasing, with six people falling into extreme poverty every minute.

The figure, he claimed, is the highest anywhere in the world adding that more than 40 percent of the population are extremely poor.

He urged the Federal Government to materialize its pledge to lift 100 million people out of extreme poverty over the next 10 years, an average of 10 million per annum.

– Daily Trust