The number of extremely poor Nigerians currently stands at 71 million, according to 2023 data from World Poverty Clock.
The World Poverty Clock is a tool to monitor progress against poverty globally.
Tonye Cole, governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, who quoted the data also said the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) classes 133 million people as multidimensionally poor.
He spoke Saturday in Abuja, at the Nigeria Zero Hunger Symposium, organised by T200 Foundation to mark World Hunger Day and unveiling of Nigeria’s hunger report.
Quoting the United Nations (UN), Cole said globally, 25,000 die daily from hunger, including more than 10,000 children.
According to him, Nigeria must design a simple, implementable, and sustainable poverty eradication model and stick to it over time.
He said, “Nigeria has the awful distinction of being the world capital of poverty, with 71 million people living in extreme poverty today (World Poverty Clock, 2023) and a total of 133 million people classed as multidimensionally poor according to National Bureau of Statistics data.
“In other words, about 828 million people will wake up every day having no idea when or where their next meal will come from, and many will go to bed that day without eating anything. This is according to a 2021 UN report. The UN further states that of these 828 million people, 25,000 will die today, including more than 10,000 children.
“Nigeria must design a simple, implementable, and sustainable poverty eradication model and stick to it over time.
