Special Adviser to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Economic Affairs, Tope Fasua, has defended the administration’s approach to tackling poverty, saying the living conditions of Nigeria’s poorest citizens are gradually improving.
Speaking during an interview with Channels Television, Fasua stated that meaningful progress in reducing poverty depends largely on local governments. According to him, that is why President Tinubu has continued to support local government autonomy while ensuring states receive increased funding.
He said:
“The solution to poverty, really, that I was talking about is actually at the local government level, and that’s the reason why the president has advocated for local government autonomy and has also ensured that the states are a lot more powerful now in terms of the funding that they’re getting. And I mentioned to you the fact that, you know, those days when civil servants would be owed 18 months, 12 months, six months, it’s gone.
Pensioners are getting their money a lot, and I think that’s where it matters. And of course, opposition will think that it’s a government that actually pushes finances to the state and the local government, okay, that ensures that salaries are paid on time and the most vulnerable part of our population actually gets something. So I’m saying that, look, I can tell you, I can tell you that, honestly, for the very poor people in this country, the situation is getting better and perhaps better than it used to be, honestly.”
Fasua also said the federal government alone cannot directly identify and support every poor household across the country.
He pointed to China’s poverty reduction programme as an example of how detailed household data can help governments design more effective interventions.
Fasua further said: “Because if you are raising money to local government and to state government, that is where it’s at. But actually, we cannot go and give the local man…let me tell you, the lessons learned from the China Poverty Eradication Programme, what they did was to get documentation on every household. So if you really want to solve the poverty problem, you are talking about getting documentation on each household.
The federal government knows that you cannot do that; you can only do that through the local government, through the state government. And so these monies that have been pushed to them are what are going to win the election for us. I have no doubt that Bola Ahmed Tinubu is coming back in 2027 anyway.”
Fasua’s comments come as the Tinubu administration continues to defend its economic policies amid concerns over the rising cost of living, maintaining that increased funding for states and local governments will play a key role in reducing poverty across the country.
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