My administration has lifted 10.5m Nigerians out of poverty – Buhari

PRESIDENT Buhari says his administration has lifted 10.5 million people out of poverty in the last two years.

In his Democracy Day broadcast today, the president listed farmers, small-scale traders, artisans, market women among the class of persons whose lives have improved under him.

Buhari also said his government is on track to fulfil its promise to lift 100 million persons out of poverty.

“I will be the first to admit that in spite of our efforts and achievements which are there for all to see, there is still much more to be done and we are doing our best in the face of scarce resources and galloping population growth rate that consistently outstrips our capacity to provide jobs for our populace. Our over-all economic target of lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years is our goal notwithstanding COVID-19,” he said.

“In the last two years we lifted 10.5 million people out of poverty – farmers, small-scale traders, artisans, market women and the like.

“I am very convinced that this 100 million target can be met and this informed the development of a National Poverty Reduction with Growth Strategy. The specific details of this accelerated strategy will be unveiled shortly.

“In the last one year, Nigeria and the whole world faced COVID-19 for which no one was fully prepared.

“Our response to the pandemic involved making hard choices in balancing livelihoods and public health concerns. You are all living witnesses to how successful this has been due to a number of pro-active measures put in place. Our response to COVID-19 is globally acclaimed.”