By Kolawole Ojebisi
The presidential candidate of Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 general elections has attributed the steady rise of poverty in the country to what he described as “misplaced priorities” of successive administrations over the years.
Obi said the only panacea for the national problem is for government on all levels in to redirect their focus to critical areas of development one of which he identified as poverty alleviation.
He made the call in a statement issued on Tuesday via X.
“In Nigeria today, the situation we find ourselves in calls for urgent and deliberate action,” he said. “It is time for all levels of government to prioritise critical areas of development—particularly investment in health, education, and poverty alleviation.”
Obi’s statement was prompted by a recent data from the World Bank stating that over 75 per cent of the country’s rural population are languishing in abject penury as of April 2025.
The Bretton Woods financial institution’s data about poverty among the urban population is not in anyway encouraging as it stated that 41.3 per cent of Nigerians securing their means of livelihoods from cities lives below the poverty line.
Reacting to this development, Obi said, “This shows that poverty is no longer just a rural crisis—it has become a national emergency,”
The former governor of Anambra State asserted that the current levels of poverty are significantly worse than in previous years.
“In comparison, the World Bank reported that in 2018/2019, about 30.9 per cent of Nigerians lived below the international extreme poverty line. As of 2025, that figure has more than doubled instead of improving,” he added.
Obi continued, “These facts confirm that poverty in Nigeria has worsened significantly—and this is no coincidence,
“It is the direct result of years of misplaced priorities. Rather than investing in critical sectors, we have continued to prioritise wasteful spending on non-developmental projects such as conference centres, government houses and lodges, guest houses, and fleets of official vehicles.”
Obi emphasised the need to shift attention to human capital development as the foundation for national transformation.
“We must reassess what truly matters. The decisions we make—what we build, fund, and focus on—must align with the pressing needs of the people,” he said.
He argued that the holistic solution to Nigeria’s allied woes lies in expanding access to quality education and healthcare and in supporting job creation through Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises.
“Nigeria must expand access to quality education and healthcare and support job creation by investing in and empowering Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises, which are essential for lifting people out of poverty,” Obi stated.
