President Muhammadu Buhari says the current administration under his leadership, has so far lifted over 10 million Nigerians out of poverty.
He disclosed this in a nationwide broadcast to mark the 2021 Democracy Day.
The Nigerian leader said despite the unexpected emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the increasing population of the country, he was able to weather the storm.
“I will be the first to admit that in spite of our efforts and achievements which are there for all to see, there is still much more to be done and we are doing our best in the face of scarce resources and galloping population growth rate that consistently outstrips our capacity to provide jobs for our populace. Our over-all economic target of lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years is our goal notwithstanding COVID-19.
“In the last two years we lifted 10.5 million people out of poverty – farmers, small-scale traders, artisans, market women and the like. I am very convinced that this 100 million target can be met and this informed the development of a National Poverty Reduction with Growth Strategy. The specific details of this accelerated strategy will be unveiled shortly.
“In the last one year, Nigeria and the whole world faced COVID-19 for which no one was fully prepared. Our response to the pandemic involved making hard choices in balancing livelihoods and public health concerns. You are all living witnesses to how successful this has been due to a number of pro-active measures put in place. Our response to COVID-19 is globally acclaimed,” he said.
President Buhari noted that government was able to disburse N5,000 to one million Nigerians, using a Rapid Response Register as palliative, to cushion the effect of the coronavirus pandemic.
Lateefah Ibrahim
