Nigeria has highest number of poor people globally – Governor El-Rufai

Kaduna state Governor Nasir El Rufai has said that Nigeria has the highest number of poor people among the countries of the world.

Speaking during the launching of the State Social Protection Policy on Tuesday, February 23, he called on the political elites to drop the slot mentality so that programs targeting the poor and vulnerable can get to them

In his words;

“Nigeria is going through trying times. We have the largest number of poor people than any country in the world. Yet, whenever a programme is designed to help the poor and vulnerable, we resort to a slot mentality in which important people are allocated slots instead of targeting those poor and vulnerable that deserve it. This is unfortunate. We must move away from slot mentality and use our social register to offer targeted support to those that truly need it.

“I appeal to all my colleagues, the political elites to please drop this slot mentality and use the social register, so that, programmes targeting the vulnerable actually go to the poor and vulnerable. When we think of the poor and vulnerable, we must all remember that, the welfare of each one of us is bound up in the welfare of all of us.”