…says Nigerians should blame them for high poverty level
…says Nigerians should blame them for high poverty level
The Federal Government on Wednesday described the state governors as agents of poverty and asked Nigerians to blame them for being responsible for the high level of poverty in the country
According to the Federal Government, the state governors pay more attention to building flyovers and airports rather than improvement of life in rural areas.
The Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Clement Agba stated this while briefing newsmen Wednesday at the end of the weekly meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House, Abuja,
According to him, 72% of the poverty in Nigeria is found in the rural areas, which he said had been abandoned by governors.
The governors, he said, prefer to function in the state capitals, as the federal government on its part has done its best on poverty alleviation, adding that there is no reflection of the amount of investment that had been done in the area.
He accused state governors of concentrating on building flyovers, airports and other projects that are visible in the state capitals rather than investing in areas that directly uplift the standard of life of the people in the rural areas.
Agba emphasised that while states are in charge of land for agriculture, they do not invest in them for the desired effect on their rural citizens.
He, therefore, advised the state chief executives to rather than concentrate on the building of sky scrappers, flyovers and bridges, they should focus on initiatives that can pull the majority of Nigerians out of poverty.