AFRO-NETS> 70% Nigerian not living below poverty level - says President

[A Odutola <chpss_abo@yahoo.com>]

70% Nigerian not living below poverty level - says President
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The Punch
Published Date: May 28 2003
By Yomi Odunuga


President Olusegun Obasanjo, expressed deep reservations with the ar-
gument that over 70 per cent Nigerians live below the poverty level, 
stating that the figure was not only unbelievable but also unrealis-
tic, judging from the achievements of his administration in the last 
four years.

The president pointed out that the total number of Nigerians that 
could be regarded as really poor were fewer than the estimates pro-
vided by economists.

Obasanjo, who spoke on Tuesday in Abuja at an interactive session 
with children at a Mock Parliament organized as part of activities 
for the May 29 inauguration and to mark this year's Children's Day, 
said though poverty was a comparative phenomenon, it could easily be 
evaluated by looking at the amount of goods and the level of cash in 
circulation within the working class and other strata of society.

His words: "I do not accept the figure that 70 per cent of Nigerians 
are living below abject poverty level. I just do not accept that and 
I have asked those in government to explain to me how we came about 
this figure. I was told that in 1992, it was 42 per cent of Nigerians 
and in 1996, it jumped to 70 per cent."

Source: Punch, Wednesday, May 28, 2003. Pg: 3. By Yomi Odunuga

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A. Odutola
CHPSS, Lagos
Nigeria
mailto:chpss_abo@yahoo.com
http://www.expage.com/chpsshomepage
http://www.datelinehealth-africa.net
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