The Federal Government yesterday said the total number of poor Nigerians would hit about 109 million by the end of next year as a result of the negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the nations economy.
The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, revealed this yesterday, at the on-going National Covid-19 Summit, in Abuja.
Represented by the Director-General of Budget Office, Ben Akabueze, at the event, themed Pushing Through the Last Mile to End the Pandemic and Build Back Better, the Minister explained that the pandemic had worsened the recession, which has pushed an additional 6.6 million Nigerians into poverty in 2020.
The Minister said before the pandemic, about two million Nigerians were expected to fall into poverty by 2020, as population growth outpaced economic growth.
She said with Covid-19, the recession pushed an additional 6.6 million Nigerians into poverty in 2020, bringing the total newly poor to 8.6 million in the same year.
She listed having vulnerable employment; receiving fewer remittances and being close to the poverty line as being responsible for the increase in poverty.
