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The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, recently released a 72-page Manifesto titled “It’s POssible: Our Pact with Nigerians.” This manifesto, according to Mr Obi, lays out their mission focus and mandate for securing, uniting, and making Nigeria productive.
Giving a background to the issues in Nigeria and what needs to be done, Mr Obi, in his manifesto, said 63% of Nigerians, representing 133 million people, are poor with no access to basic sanitation.
The need to hold public office holders and seekers accountable prompted DUBAWA to verify this claim.
Verification
Claim 1: 63% of Nigerians are poor.
Verdict 1: TRUE
A keyword search on this figure led to a report by Vanguard with the exact statistics quoting the National Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) Survey results for 2022.
A look at the MPI based on four dimensions: health, education, living standards, and work, reveals that 63% of people in Nigeria (133 million) are multidimensionally poor. This index shows that poor people in Nigeria experience just over one-quarter of all possible deprivations.
Claim 2: 63% of Nigerians have no access to basic sanitation.
Verdict 2: MISLEADING
The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention defines basic sanitation as having access to facilities for the safe disposal of human waste (faeces and urine), as well as having the ability to maintain hygienic conditions through services such as garbage collection, industrial/hazardous waste management, and wastewater treatment and disposal.
The MPI survey shows 46.5% are deprived in the area of sanitation.
“Over half of the population who are multidimensionally poor cook with dung, wood or charcoal, rather than clean energy. High deprivations are also apparent in sanitation, time to healthcare, food insecurity, and housing,” part of the survey result reads.
Conclusion
The first claim that 63% of people in Nigeria (133 million) are multidimensionally poor is true, while the claim that this 63% have no access to sanitation is misleading.
