'Over 70 Percent Citizens Live Below Poverty Level'.

from All Africa

Byline: Toba Suleiman

Ado-Ekiti, The federal government yesterday disclosed that over 70 percent of Nigerians live below poverty level, saying this had led to the establishment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs unconditional grants so as to break the vicious circle of poverty among the people of the country.

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Millennium Development Goals(MDGs), Hajia Amina Ibrahim, made the disclosure during an interactive session in Ado-Ekiti with a cross section of market women, civil servants, farmers, artisans and several other stakeholders.

She said the federal government was disturbed with the impact of hunger and starvation that had continued to ravage people of the country and has thus set up the special fund to give the people the necessities of life so that they could live a whole good life.

The presidential aide on MDGs said she was in the state to assess the level of the projects executed so far with the grant to the state, adding that the President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua's was resolute about making a tremendous impact on the lives of the citizenry so that they could discover that potentials without hindrance.

She disclosed that the MDGs are part of the methods being used by the government in the actualization of its vision 2020 economic projection, stressing that the federal government would continue to monitor every state that had benefitted from the fund so as to ensure that every kobo collected was used judiciously on the project they are meant for.

Hajia Ibrahim, who expressed regret that not much had been achieved by the federal government in the MDGs, said this was so in view of the fact that so many challenges are still confronting the people of the country.

She said federal government had taken it upon itself to finance the Universal Basic Education (UBE) programme, having realised that education was the basis of all societal problems, especially among the youths.

She added that it was the ultimate aim of the federal government to ensure education for all by 2015.