F.G Says Latest Poverty Report To Be Used For Resource Allocation

The results of the recently released Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) report will be used as a policy tool for targeted resource allocation.

This is according to the minister of state for budget and national planning, Clem Agba.

The report, the outcome of a survey by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and other partners, released on Thursday, revealed that 133 million Nigerians are multidimensionally poor.

The minister said the sub-national MPI, which was conducted across the 109 senatorial districts of the country was aimed at investigating why there was a disconnect between available social welfare opportunities and their uptake.

“The MPI is aimed at influencing the design and implementation of projects and also to be used as a policy tool for targeted resource allocation,” Agba said.

He pointed out that the report provides a more comprehensive view of poverty by not only revealing who is poor but in what way and to what degree of intensity, which had turned it into a very practical resource for addressing the problem of poverty in all its forms and dimensions.

“The 2022 MPI survey results, therefore, equip us with valuable information available for the first time in our country to adequately and judiciously utilise in designing and implementing more efficient policies and programmes that effectively address poverty in a multidimensional way,” the minister added.

He said the survey revealed how poverty levels across the states varied significantly, with the incidence of multidimensional poverty ranging from as low as 27 per cent in Ondo to as high as 91 per cent in Sokoto.

“So, using the MPI beyond measurements but as a policy allows (us) to tailor interventions according to the deprivation profiles of each State, making them more efficient by making data-driven, and evidence-based policies that will result in greater impact,” he added.