Headlines
UN Report Says 98 Million Nigerians are Multidimensionally Poor
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) says the number of Nigerians, who are multidimensionally poor has increased from 86 million to 98 million in the past decade up to 2017.
This is contained in a statement on Thursday by Mr Lucky Musonda, UNDP’s Communications Specialist, Head of Communication Unit.
Musonda stated that the figures are part of a recent Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) report put together by UNDP.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Multidimensional poverty refers to various deprivations experienced by poor people in their daily lives – such as poor health, lack of education, inadequate living standards, disempowerment, poor quality of work, the threat of violence, and living in areas that are environmentally hazardous, among others.
According to him, the 2019 global MPI report reveals that in Nigeria the proportion of people who are multidimensionally poor has remained constant at just over 50 per cent over the past decade up to 2017.
“Important to note from the report is that when compared to the national poverty line which measure income over consumption, a larger proportion of Nigerians that is 51 per cent are multidimensionally poor than those that are income poor which constitute 46 per cent.
“For instance, in Nigeria, even though the national average shows that around 50 per cent of Nigerians are multidimensionally poor, state and local government levels will reveal a completely different scenario.
“This year’s MPI results show that of the 1.3 billion people who are multidimensionally poor, more than two-thirds of them which is 886 million people live in middle-income countries while 440 million live in low-income countries.
“In both groups, data showed that simple national averages can hide enormous inequality in patterns of poverty within countries,” he said.
The report added that the traditional concept of poverty was outdated, according to a new report released by UNDP and Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI).
It stated that new data demonstrates more clearly than ever that labeling countries or even households as rich and poor was an oversimplification.
According to the report, findings from the 2019 global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) sheds light on disparities on how people experience poverty, revealing vast inequalities among countries and among the poor themselves.
Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator, was quoted as saying: “To fight poverty, one needs to know where poor people live. They are not evenly spread across a country, not even within a household.
The report stated that MPI goes beyond income as the sole indicator for poverty, by exploring the ways in which people experience poverty in their health, education, and standard of living.
“There is also inequality among the poor. Findings of the 2019 global MPI also paint a detailed picture of the many differences on how and how deeply people experience poverty.
“Deprivations among the poor vary enormously, in general higher MPI values go hand in hand with greater variation in the intensity of poverty,” it said.
The report shows that children suffer poverty more intensely than adults and are more likely to be deprived in all 10 of the MPI indicators, lacking essentials such as clean water, sanitation, adequate nutrition or primary education.
It stated that worldwide, one in three children was multidimensionally poor, compared to one in six adults, adding that nearly half of the people living in multidimensional povert which is 663 million are children, with the youngest children bearing the greatest burden.
The report in a new data showed a positive trend.
“We looked at data for a group of 10 middle and low-income countries and we found encouraging news that 40 per cent were moving faster than the rest.
“Within these 10 countries, data showed that 270 million people moved out of multidimensional poverty from one survey to the next.
“This progress was largely driven by South Asia, in India there were 271 million people in poverty in 2016 than in 2006, while in Bangladesh the number dropped by 19 million between 2004 and 2014.
“In other countries there was less or no absolute reduction, with numbers of multidimensionally poor rising by 28 million across the three African countries considered.
“In part this was because of rapid population growth, which outstripped reductions in poverty, poverty rates as a percentage of the population declined in most of the countries” it said.
The 2019 global MPI paints a detailed picture of poverty for 101 countries and 1,119 subnational regions covering 76 per cent of the global population.
(NAN)
Veteran journalist and chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Chief Dele Momodu, has declared that a joint presidential ticket between Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi represents the strongest strategy for the opposition to defeat the ruling All Progressives Congress in the 2027 general elections.
Speaking on Politics Today on Channels Television, Momodu said the emerging ADC coalition is gaining momentum as a credible alternative to President Bola Tinubu’s administration, which he accused of promoting “one-man rule” and weakening democratic institutions.
Momodu argued that an Atiku–Obi ticket offers both experience and electoral appeal, noting that both politicians already command significant national followings from previous elections. He recalled their collaboration in 2019, adding that Obi’s performance in the 2023 presidential election provides a ready base of supporters that can be consolidated.
According to him, the coalition is further strengthened by the involvement of political heavyweights such as Rabiu Kwankwaso and Rotimi Amaechi, making it a formidable opposition alliance.
“The candidates who placed second, third, and even fourth are aligning. That naturally builds a strong challenge,” Momodu said, suggesting that this development could unsettle the APC ahead of 2027.
He also accused the Tinubu administration of centralising power and undermining democratic processes, claiming that key institutions—including the legislature and electoral system—are increasingly influenced by the executive arm of government. He warned that such a trend poses risks to Nigeria’s democracy.
Momodu further alleged that opposition parties face systemic obstacles, including difficulties in accessing venues, legal pressures, and institutional interference. He argued that these challenges have made opposition unity not just strategic, but necessary.
Dismissing concerns about possible cracks within the ADC coalition, Momodu described such fears as speculative, insisting that current political realities have effectively forced major opposition figures to work together.
The Supreme Court has scheduled hearing for April 22 in the appeal filed by the National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Senator David Mark, in relation to the leadership dispute in the party.
Mark’s appeal is against the March 12 judgment of the Court of Appeal, which dismissed his appeal against the September 4, 2025 ruling by Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja refusing to grant some injunctive reliefs contained in an ex-parte application filed by a chieftain of the party, Nafiu Bala Gombe.
A five-member panel of the Supreme Court, led by Justice Mohammed Garba chose the date on Tuesday after granting accelerated hearing in the appeal marked: SC/CV/180/2026.
The court ordered Mark’s lawyer, Jibril Okutepa (SAN) to file the appellant’s brief and serve on Wednesday.
It ordered the respondents to each file and serve on the appellant, a respondent’s brief within three days of being served with the appellant’s brief.
The appellant, according to the court, is to file a reply brief, if needs be, within one day of being served with the respondents’ briefs.
Headlines
Amid Denials, ADC Reportedly Secures Rainbow Event Centre As Venue for National Convention
Baring any last minute change, the leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) under Senator David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola as National chairman and National Secretary respectively will hold the party’s National convention at the National Rainbow Event Centre in Garki on Tuesday, 14 April 2026.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has being denied two venues without any cogent reasons despite early arrangements, according to sources.
First, it was alleged that the Abuja Transcorp Hilton Hotels, which was initially approached, turned down the ADC request to use it’s facility.
The ADC, having sensed sabotage, has kept the Rainbow Event Center under rap as it’s definite venue.
The last National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party was held at the same venue.
Located adjacent the Nigerian Police Force Headquarters, the event centre will host the second NEC meeting of the ADC and it’s forthcoming national convention.
According to The Guardian’ report, the ADC leadership has communicated the venue to state chapters with the caveat not to escalate it.
The ADC is in a battle of survival against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and has approached the Supreme Court for intervention.
The INEC national chairman Prof Joash Amupitan has suspended recognition of the David Mark-led ADC rendering a leadership vacuum in the party.
INEC said it’s decision was on the basis of an Appeal Court pronouncement that ordered statusquo ante-bellum be maintained.
Reports say that why the venue is being quietly decorated moderately for the event, the ADC intends to fully move in the early hours of Tuesday.
The Guardian
