Sokoto state

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) at the weekend said Sokoto State is the poorest state in the country.
According to information obtained on NBS website by an online agency, The Citizen Platform, the state has 81.2 per cent poverty rate.


The information disclosed that other states on the list include Katsina, 74.5 per cent; Adamawa, 74.2 per cent; Gombe, 74.2 per cent; Jigawa, 74.1 per cent; Plateau, 74.1 per cent; Ebonyi, 73.6 per cent; Bauchi, 73 per cent; Kebbi, 72 per cent and Zamfara, 70.8 per cent.


The state with the lowest poverty rate was Niger with 33.8 per cent, followed by Osun with 37.9 per cent and Ondo with 45.7 per cent.
Others include Bayelsa State with 47 per cent and Lagos State, 48.6 per cent.


The average poverty rate of the states in the North-west geopolitical zone remained the highest at 71.4 per cent followed by North-east 69.1 per cent and North-central, 60.7 per cent.


The record showed that poverty was least prevalent in the South-west, with an average of 49.8 per cent, followed by South-south, 55.5 per cent and South-east, 59.5 per cent. 

To think that some of the 'richest' Nigerians are from some of these states makes me shake my head.