The World Bank has put the number of poor Nigerian adults at 70 million. According to the bank’s Lead Economist, Mr. John Litwack, at a media launch on the Nigeria Economic Report in Abuja, poverty rate remains high particularly in rural areas. The first Nigerian Economic Report (NER) contains a macro-economic overview of the Nigerian economy. It also analyses government oil revenues, price allocations and projections through to 2015. Mr. Litwack noted in the report that although poverty rate declined slightly between 2004 and 2010, it did not however reflect on the generality of Nigerians. The NER states that Lagos State has the lowest poverty rate of 22.9 per cent while Jigawa State has the highest at 77.5 percent.
The report further showed that poverty is concentrated more in the Northern part of the country as against the South West where the rate is lowest. The Lead Economist explained that to overcome these, there is need for better coordination of Federal and State policies in key areas of the economy namely: macro-economic management, coordinated policies to enhance market connectivity and improve public service, and the realization of national standards in public financial management and disclosure.
