September 7, 2025-Published by Cyril

Former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has warned that more Nigerians are living in poverty today than at the time of the country’s independence in 1960.

Speaking at an interactive session in Owerri, Imo State, the key member of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) stressed that Nigeria can only defeat mass poverty if the government treats it as a national priority, similar to how China and India have done.

In a statement shared on his X page, El-Rufai said:

• “It is deeply embarrassing that, judging from the population estimate in 1960, there are now more poor Nigerians than there were Nigerians at independence 65 years ago. China has beaten mass poverty, while India is on a path to ending it. We too can do it, if we make it a governance priority to move our people out of poverty.”

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El-Rufai emphasized that Nigeria needs a pragmatic economic programme that is both ambitious in its goals and realistic in execution. He argued that creating new government agencies, such as those for humanitarian affairs, only increases bureaucracy without addressing the root causes of poverty.

He urged the Tinubu administration to implement innovative economic policies that reward hardworking, honest citizens while discouraging rent-seeking and the widespread get-rich-quick mentality that hinders productivity.

According to him, only a bold and targeted roadmap can ensure that poverty eradication in Nigeria becomes a central pillar of governance.

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