Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), says the federal government has not done enough to address issues that engender poverty in Nigeria.
Obi made the assertion on Sunday while responding to questions during the Arise TV presidential town hall series.
Last Wednesday, Clem Agba, minister of state for budget and national planning, says governors are fixated on projects that do not have positive impact on the lives of the people.
He accused the governors of giving priority to flyovers and airports than improving conditions in rural areas.
Agba said 72 percent of Nigeria’s poor citizens are in the rural areas abandoned by the governors.
Responding to Agba’s comment, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) said the federal government’s inability to secure the country is responsible for the rise in the poverty rate.
Speaking during the town hall, the former Anambra governor said the issues responsible for the rising poverty rate in Nigeria are under the “purview” of the federal government.
He noted that issues of security and “fiscal viability” are responsibilities of the federal government.
The LP presidential candidate said if the federal government secures the country and provides an enabling environment for investors, the poverty rate will reduce.
“Today, if you look at what is causing the poverty level that we have; first, the issue of security, it is the federal government — and the issue of fiscal viability, it is the federal government,” he said.
“Most of the things causing poverty today reside in the purview of the federal government. I’m going to deal with it.”
In November, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced that 133 million Nigerians are multidimensionally poor.
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