According to a recent report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), forty percent of people in Nigeria live in poverty. The report about poverty and inequality from September 2018 to October 2019, said almost half of the people in the continent's most populous country lived below its poverty line of 137,430 naira ($381.75) a year, representing 82.9 million people.
The summary report also shows that 52.1% of rural dwellers in Nigeria are poor, while only 18.04% of urban dwellers are classified as poor.
Despite its massive oil wealth, a failure to diversify the economy and build much-needed transport and power infrastructure has stymied growth and the spread of wealth beyond a rich elite.
According to the report, 9 of top 10 poorest states in Nigeria ere from the norther region with Sokoto, Taraba and Jigawa being the poorest. The statistics office said it did not include Borno, the state worst hit by the decade-long Boko Haram armed uprising, because many areas there were not safe to reach.