Over 100m Nigerians are Living in Poverty – MAN
Despite the nation’s stupendous wealth and relative improvement in the GDP growth rate, over 70 per cent of Nigerians are living in abject poverty, according to manufacturers, who also described the President Goodluck Jonathan’s 100 days in office as woeful against the backdrop of rising poverty and excruciating business environment in the country.
The manufacturers, who spoke at the 39th Annual General Meeting of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (Man), noted that since President Jonathan officially assumed the office in 2010, his assessment should be based on his performance from that date and not 2011, adding that unemployment and poverty rose significantly in 2010.
Some of the speakers took exception to the presentations made by the ministers during the celebration of Jonathan’s 100 days in office, describing them as smokescreen as poverty and unemployment continue to grow in geometrical progression, a development which they said has put the actualisation of Vision 2020 and the Transformation Agenda of this administration in doubt.
They also questioned the change of ministry of industry to trade and investment, saying that it was an indication that the government is no more interested in the industrial development of the country but trade as the country is still bereft with basic infrastructure for industrial growth.
Reacting to the speech by Dr. Shamsuddeen Usman, who spoke on the theme: “Achieving The Nigerian Vision 20:2020 and The President’s Transformation Agenda, The Role of the Manufacturing Sector,” manufacturers noted that while the two projects are laudable, the growing poverty in the country has become a source of concern and called on the Presidency to find a lasting solution to the two issues.
A speech by Chief Kola Jamodu, president of Man in the 2010 annual report of the association, noted that despite the country’s oil wealth and relative improvement in the GDP growth rate, over 70 per cent in 2010.
Jamodu who was represented at the occasion by Chief Gani Gbadebo Giwa, one of the vice-presidents of Man and chairman of Tripple Gee and Company Plc, noted that one of the major reasons for this is the non-inclusive growth experienced by the economy over the decade as a result of the gross under performance of the real sector particularly the manufacturing industry.
“The decline in the manufacturing sector has partly contributed to the current level of unemployment as more people were forced into the laboure market,” said Man. According to the association, the Human Development Index further revealed that between 1978 and 1980, the national poverty level was 28.17 per cent but increasingly moved up to over 70 per cent in 2010. Man believes that these are the things that the present administration needs to reverse through its transformation agenda.
The performance of the sector was lackluster. According to Man, the contribution of the manufacturing sector to GDP was 4.1 per cent in 2010 compared to 4.21 per cent in 2009, just as average manufacturing capacity utilization decreased from 47 per cent in 2009 to 45 per cent in 2010.
Business unplanned inventory increased from N5.15 billion in first half of 2009 to N11.4 billion in the same period in 2010. Investment profile in the first half of 2010 witnessed a sharp decline from N1,280,592 billion in January-June 2009 to N360,232 billion in the corresponding period in 2010.
The manufacturers, who spoke at the 39th Annual General Meeting of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (Man), noted that since President Jonathan officially assumed the office in 2010, his assessment should be based on his performance from that date and not 2011, adding that unemployment and poverty rose significantly in 2010.
Some of the speakers took exception to the presentations made by the ministers during the celebration of Jonathan’s 100 days in office, describing them as smokescreen as poverty and unemployment continue to grow in geometrical progression, a development which they said has put the actualisation of Vision 2020 and the Transformation Agenda of this administration in doubt.
They also questioned the change of ministry of industry to trade and investment, saying that it was an indication that the government is no more interested in the industrial development of the country but trade as the country is still bereft with basic infrastructure for industrial growth.
Reacting to the speech by Dr. Shamsuddeen Usman, who spoke on the theme: “Achieving The Nigerian Vision 20:2020 and The President’s Transformation Agenda, The Role of the Manufacturing Sector,” manufacturers noted that while the two projects are laudable, the growing poverty in the country has become a source of concern and called on the Presidency to find a lasting solution to the two issues.
A speech by Chief Kola Jamodu, president of Man in the 2010 annual report of the association, noted that despite the country’s oil wealth and relative improvement in the GDP growth rate, over 70 per cent in 2010.
Jamodu who was represented at the occasion by Chief Gani Gbadebo Giwa, one of the vice-presidents of Man and chairman of Tripple Gee and Company Plc, noted that one of the major reasons for this is the non-inclusive growth experienced by the economy over the decade as a result of the gross under performance of the real sector particularly the manufacturing industry.
“The decline in the manufacturing sector has partly contributed to the current level of unemployment as more people were forced into the laboure market,” said Man. According to the association, the Human Development Index further revealed that between 1978 and 1980, the national poverty level was 28.17 per cent but increasingly moved up to over 70 per cent in 2010. Man believes that these are the things that the present administration needs to reverse through its transformation agenda.
The performance of the sector was lackluster. According to Man, the contribution of the manufacturing sector to GDP was 4.1 per cent in 2010 compared to 4.21 per cent in 2009, just as average manufacturing capacity utilization decreased from 47 per cent in 2009 to 45 per cent in 2010.
Business unplanned inventory increased from N5.15 billion in first half of 2009 to N11.4 billion in the same period in 2010. Investment profile in the first half of 2010 witnessed a sharp decline from N1,280,592 billion in January-June 2009 to N360,232 billion in the corresponding period in 2010.
