The 2027 presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has said Nigeria should have declared Saturday a public holiday to mark the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. Obi made the call in a statement posted on his X handle on Saturday, October 17. He lamented…...
The 2027 presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has said Nigeria should have declared Saturday a public holiday to mark the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.
Obi made the call in a statement posted on his X handle on Saturday, October 17.
He lamented the poverty rate in Nigeria, citing an increase from 40.1 per cent in 2019 to 56.2 per cent in 2023 and an estimated 63 per cent in 2026.
The former Anambra State governor said millions of Nigerians were struggling to afford food and access healthcare, questioning the impact of economic growth when citizens continued to face worsening living conditions.
“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,” Obi stated.
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He argued that a public holiday would have provided an opportunity for national reflection rather than celebration, given Nigeria’s poverty challenges despite its human and natural resources.
“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 said.
Obi, however, maintained that poverty was not inevitable, urging competent leadership, prudent management of public resources and increased investment in education, healthcare, agriculture and small businesses to reverse the trend.
“Poverty is not Nigeria’s destiny,” he said.
He added that Nigeria could build a society where citizens live in dignity and have access to basic necessities.