November 05, (THEWILL) – Notwithstanding its stupendous wealth, Rivers ranks among the leading poor states of the South-South. A number of quality living indices are also against the 56-year-old oil rich state which sits atop humongous wealth that derives from nature’s gift of oil and gas.
In its last eye-opening report published mid-year, data technology company. StatiSense, unveiled distressing findings from the Multidimensional Poverty Index (2022) report of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The report sheds light on the staggering number of people living in multidimensional poverty in Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta region, comprising states such as Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Cross River, Edo, Delta, and Bayelsa. The figures are nothing short of alarming and raise serious questions about the effective use of resources and policy implementation in these states.
The report revealed that Akwa Ibom, Rivers, and Cross River states were the hardest hit, with 5.08 million, 4.4 million, and 3.44 million people respectively living in multidimensional poverty.
For Akwa Ibom state, this represents over 71 percent of its total population of 5.451 million people estimated by the National Population Commission (NPC).
Similarly, in Rivers State, the 4.4 million people living in multidimensional poverty account for 62.4 percent of the state’s estimated 7.47 million inhabitants.
Cross River State also struggles significantly, with 3.44 million people living in multidimensional poverty, constituting a staggering 75.6 percent of the state’s population.
While Edo and Delta States also face challenges, their numbers are relatively lower compared to the states mentioned earlier. Edo has 1.4 million people living in multidimensional poverty, representing 35.4 percent of its estimated 3.9 million population, while Delta has 2.73 million people in poverty, which is just under 50 percent of its population.
Bayelsa State emerges as the most concerning case, with a shocking 2.61 million people living in multidimensional poverty, constituting a staggering 88 percent of the state’s estimated 2.9 million inhabitants.
The Ijaw ethnic group-dominated state, despite receiving significant funds from the federation account (N87.13 billion in 2021), faces a severe challenge in improving the living standards of its people.
The 13 percent derivation funds, intended to ensure that resource-rich regions benefit from their natural resources, have been a subject of scrutiny.
Many people question why these funds have failed to uplift the living standards of the people in these states. Despite receiving substantial financial support, poverty persists and worsens with the rising cost of living, magnified by increases in fuel prices and the depreciation of the naira, the national currency against major international currencies, especially the US dollars, the report emphasised.
In conclusion, the StatiSense report serves as a stark reminder of the deep-rooted multidimensional poverty plaguing Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta region.
In a research by Samuel Gowon Edoumiekumo and two others, the students of the Department of Economics, Niger Delta University, Wilberforce Island, noted that Rivers residents like their counterparts in other Niger Delta region ranked low in the National Living Standard Survey (NLSS) as ones with acute energy poverty.
“Energy is the live wire of any economy. Give the people energy you would have solved a large proportion of their problems. Not only is energy needed for domestic consumption, its availability creates an enabling environment for small-scale businesses to thrive.
“The hair barber, the hairdresser, the woman who sells fish by the roadside, that woman that deals on sachet water, fishermen, farmers, sculptors, etc all need one form of energy or the other to foster their businesses, thus energy is not only an end but also a means to an end. For the purpose of household health and environmental sustainability having access to a modern cooking fuel is also important,”
In its Q4 2020 Labour Force Statistics Report, the National Bureau of Statistics showed that Rivers played in the league of top states with the highest unemployment rate: Imo (48.7 per cent), Akwa-Ibom and Rivers with (45.2 per cent) and Rivers (43.7 per cent), respectively.
Nyesom Wike, then governor of Rivers State, in January of 2021, donated N500 million to Sokoto State to support the rebuilding of the state’s central market which was gutted by fire.
The gesture which generated reactions from many people was heavily criticised.
The pensioners in Rivers said the N500 million could have been used to meet some of the demands of retired civil servants.
According to them, Wike was unbothered that his state ranked number one on the unemployment index.
“The action of the governor clearly proves that he does not seem to have a protected future at stake or vision for our dear [Rivers] state.
He is not bothered that the state ranks number one on the unemployment index having the highest unemployed population as published by the National Bureau of Statistics and other institutions,” said Sobomabo Jackrich, a prominent political leader of the state.
Furthermore, in September 2023, the all-items inflation rate on a year-on-year basis, published by NBS, was highest in Kogi (32.95 per cent), Rivers (30.63 per cent), Lagos (30.04 per cent).
Data from the Debt Management Office (DMO) showed that Rivers
Delta State’s domestic debts are the highest compared to other states in the South-south region of Nigeria, according to data from the Debt Management Office (DMO).
The DMO published the domestic and external debts profile of Nigeria’s 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory on 23 June and 30 March, respectively.
The data shows the profiles of the sub-national’s domestic debts as of 31 March and external debts as of 31 December 2022.
With N421.8 billion in domestic debts, Delta is the most indebted state in the South-south region. The state ranked second nationally, after Lagos State. Regarding external debts, Delta, with $59.9 million, occupies the fifth position in the South-south region.
Lagos State is the most indebted state in the country for both domestic and external debts. Lagos has a domestic debt profile of N812.4 billion and external debts of $1.3 billion.
Rivers State, the largest economy in the South-south and second in the country after Lagos in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), is the second most indebted state in the South-south, with N225.5 billion as domestic debt as of September 2022, according to the DMO and an external debt of $87.1 million as of December 2022. Its internally generated revenue stood at N172.8 billion in December 2022, according to the NBS.
