The FCT Minister, Mr Nyesom Wike, says the Federal Government is working to improve the nation’s economy with a view to address poverty, one of the drivers of insecurity.
Wike, who stated this during a media chat in Abuja, explained that poverty and the economy were two sides of a coin, just as poverty and criminality were connected.
He said: “You cannot talk about poverty without talking about the economy.
“If the economy is good, it means a lot of things will function well and that will be able to reduce poverty.
“When the economy is working well, there will be a lot of employment creation. When the economy is good, businesses will thrive, and this is what the current government is trying to do.”
He explained that the federal government, through its subsidy removal and other economic policies, was working hard to improve the country’s economy which had been in a terrible state for a very long time.
He urged Nigerians to wait patiently, adding that the measures would, in the long run, improve the economy as a practical solution to poverty reduction.
While acknowledging the contribution of poverty to the rising insecurity in FCT and the country, the minister stressed that poverty was not peculiar to FCT alone.
He added that FCTA would not be able to reduce poverty within the territory when it was tied to the national economy.
According to him, the FCT Administration will not take economic decisions that affect only the economy of the territory.
He, however, said that the Administration could invest in agricultural production, skill acquisition, and information and communication technology to create jobs, but the impact would not be felt immediately.
“For me, the government is giving out palliatives to cushion the hardship being experienced due to fuel subsidy removal.
“We must understand where we are coming from because it is not going to be a miracle, but I want to assure you that the federal government is working hard to rebuild the economy,” he said.
The minister, however, warned against using poverty as an excuse to commit crime.
Olusola Akintonde
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