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Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has asserted that Nigeria currently has a higher number of impoverished citizens than it did at the time of its independence in 1960.

He expressed confidence that poverty could be eradicated in Nigeria if the government treated it as a top priority, drawing parallels with countries like China and India, which have either overcome or are actively addressing widespread poverty.

El-Rufai, a prominent figure in the African Democratic Congress (ADC), made these remarks during a dialogue session held in Owerri, the capital of Imo State.

In a message shared via his official X account, the former governor stated: “For the sake of our people, we need to have a roadmap for beating mass poverty. It is deeply embarrassing that, judging from the population estimate in 1960, there are now more poor Nigerians than there were Nigerians at independence 65 years ago. China has beaten mass poverty, while India is on a path to ending it. We too can do it, if we make it a governance priority to move our people out of poverty.”

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He emphasized the necessity of implementing a practical and results-oriented economic plan that can lift citizens out of hardship.

Rather than relying on the creation of new government agencies focused on humanitarian issues, El-Rufai advised that more inventive solutions should be adopted to encourage diligence among honest Nigerians.

He also criticized the growing culture of chasing wealth through shortcuts and quick schemes, urging a shift toward hard work and integrity.

He said: “We need an economic programme to achieve this important human goal, a programme that is pragmatic in execution but ambitious in its goal.

“In this regard, what is needed is not new agencies of poverty alleviation or ‘humanitarian affairs’ with a massive bureaucracy, but innovative ways to make honest, hardworking citizens more productive and better-rewarded, while discouraging rent-seeking and other ‘get-rich-quick’ schemes in our society.”

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