Former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi has questioned why the Nigerian government did not declare a public holiday to mark the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, calling for national reflection on the country’s worsening poverty crisis.
Obi made the remarks in a post on his X account on Saturday, October 17, 2026, arguing that rising poverty levels reflected a troubling decline in the living conditions of millions of Nigerians.
According to him, poverty in Nigeria has continued to deepen, with the country’s poverty rate rising from 40.1 per cent in 2019 to 56.2 per cent in 2023 and an estimated 63 per cent in 2026.
He lamented that millions of Nigerians were struggling to afford food and access healthcare, questioning the value of economic growth when citizens continued to experience worsening hardship.
“What meaning does economic growth have when citizens are getting poorer, hungrier, and more insecure? Progress must be measured by improvements in people’s lives,” he said.
Obi argued that the government should have used the occasion to encourage national reflection rather than allow the day to pass without a broader conversation about the country’s poverty crisis.
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“Perhaps today should have been declared a public holiday, not for celebration, but for national reflection on how a country so richly endowed with human and natural resources has allowed poverty to overcome it,” he stated.
The former Anambra State governor maintained that poverty was not Nigeria’s destiny, insisting that competent leadership and prudent management of public resources were necessary to reverse the trend.
He also called for increased investment in education and healthcare, alongside stronger support for agriculture and small businesses, as part of efforts to improve livelihoods and reduce poverty.
Obi concluded by expressing optimism about Nigeria’s future, saying a country where citizens could live in dignity and have access to basic necessities remained achievable.
“A new Nigeria where no citizen goes to bed hungry and where every citizen lives in dignity is possible and OK,” he wrote.
The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty is observed annually on October 17. The day raises awareness of the need to address poverty, social exclusion and inequality while promoting the dignity and rights of people living in poverty.