A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and the Director-General of the Progressive Governors Forum, Salihu Lukman, has called for the urgent implementation of initiatives for poverty reduction in the country.
A statement issued in Abuja by Lukman attributed the rate of criminal activities in the country to the high rate of poverty among its citizenry.
He noted that Nigerians are faced with an existential crisis that can only be addressed if the citizens are moved out of poverty. One of the instruments for this migration to prosperity, according to Lukman is the recommendation of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council, PEAC, which defined poverty beyond financial capacity to include shelter, health, education, and jobs.
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He stated that states must be mobilized to play leading roles in implementing initiatives to achieve national targets.
Professor Doyin Salami led Presidential Advisory Council had stated that 2% of Nigeria’s arable lands are being underutilized, a situation Lukman said can be turned around by the state government who is the custodian of the Land Use Act.
Editor: Paul Akhagbemhe
