110 Million Nigerians Are Poor – Osinbajo

 

Vice President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo yesterday said there are 110 million poor Nigerians.

Speaking while receiving  the Alumni Association of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPPS), in Abuja, he added that some past government polices did not reflect the needs of Nigerians.

He also expressed concern about the poverty levels in the country, sharing that two third of the population had become disempowered following the policy formulation in the past.

According to him; “When you look at the economic and social policies, and you look at the level of illiteracy, some are extremely bad and some with cases of about 80 or 90 per cent of children out of school, and other cases of unimaginable decayed infrastructure,” he said.

“Governments have not been accountable to the people, otherwise policies should have roots in the real condition of the people.”

He said one of the challenges of policy formulation is how to speak to the people and address their plight, adding that the people were concerned about “how do I get a meal, how do I get health care and how to send children to school.”

Vice President Osinbajo urged the Alumni Association to discuss how policy formulation ought to take  root in the conditions of the people.

Speaking earlier, President of the association, Major-General Lawrence Onoja, appreciated President Muhammadu Buhari’s determination to fight corruption and reposition the economy and pledged the support of the Association for the actualization of what he called the Three-Point Agenda – Security, Corruption and Economy of the Buhari Administration.