Former Minister of National Planning, Prince Clement Agba, has pushed back against claims that the Federal Government is responsible for Nigeria’s deepening multidimensional poverty, arguing that the burden lies squarely with state and local governments.
Agba made the assertion on Wednesday, February 4, while delivering a presentation at the Honourary National Steering Committee Meeting and Dinner with the OGP Global Support Unit, where he outlined what he described as a misplaced focus in the national poverty debate.
He explained that multidimensional poverty goes beyond income levels and reflects widespread deprivation in access to education, healthcare, sanitation and clean drinking water.
According to Agba, the Nigerian Constitution clearly assigns responsibility for these basic services to state governments and the 774 local government areas, not the Federal Government.
“Who should be blamed for the 133 million Nigerians who are multidimensionally poor? The Federal Government? No. The states? Yes. The 774 local councils? Yes,” he said.
Agba argued that governance choices at the sub-national level have worsened living conditions, particularly in rural communities.
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“And why is this so? When governors assume office, they often concentrate about 80 per cent of resources in state capitals,” he stated.
He welcomed recent comments by President Bola Tinubu on grassroots development but warned that years of neglect had already taken a toll.
“I am glad that Mr. President has been speaking about this in the last two weeks. We forget the communities. We forget the local governments,” Agba said.
The former minister also criticised what he described as a distortion of development priorities by state and local authorities.
“Instead of state and local governments focusing on building primary healthcare centres, they concentrate on tertiary healthcare, which is not their responsibility,” he added.
Agba maintained that addressing multidimensional poverty would require states and councils to redirect resources to the basic services constitutionally placed under their control.