Posted by Oluyinka Akintunde, Abuja on
The Chief Economic Adviser to the President, Prof. Ode Ojowu, said on Tuesday, that the country would halve extreme poverty by the year 2015.
The Chief Economic Adviser to the President, Prof. Ode Ojowu, said on Tuesday, that the country would halve extreme poverty by the year 2015.
Ojowu, who said this in Abuja at a meeting with international non-governmental organisations, said that there had been renewed focus on achieving the critical development goals, including halving extreme poverty claimed neutrality in the various sectors in Nigeria.
He declared, 'The target of halving extreme poverty by the year 2015 is achievable in Nigeria. Nigeria is capable of meeting these Millennium Development Goals because of the change in our orientation to economic management in the last six years.
'The challenge is to translate these goals into concrete national action. To accomplish this, Nigeria needs a collective, coordinated and well-focused action to support national efforts and build viable partnership with all the development partners."
Nigeria's 2005 Draft Report on Millennium Development Goals had said that 68.7million Nigerians were poor out of a total population of 126.3million as at 2004.
The Northern zones, according to the report, which was produced by an Inter-Ministerial Committee, accounted for the higher incidence of poverty.
'The North East zone had a higher incidence of poverty followed by North West and North Central for the period 1980 to 2004. For the Southern zones, poverty increased from 1980-1996 but dropped in 2004, apart from the South-South zone that had a drop in 1992," the report stated.
On the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy, Ojowu explained that the government, through its ongoing reforms, had been able to enhance fiscal prudence and budget discipline.
'The war against corruption, discipline in foreign reserve accumulation, the growth of the economy and now, external debt cancellation signalling in particular, the recognition of Nigeria's home- grown reform programme," he added.
On the rising level of the country's foreign reserves, the adviser stated that this was not limited to the rise in the oil prices at the international market.
According to him, the foreign reserves accumulation was part of government's effort to stabilise the budget and diversify the economy from dependence on oil.
He commended the country's development partners for their contributions to the implementation of useful programmes and projects in key sectors of the economy.
'We on our part, have pledged to ensure that the assistance to our Nigerian people are properly coordinated and managed in a systematic and optimal manner with a view to improving the welfare of the citizenry," he added.
The Punch, Wednesday, 20, July, 2005