Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, has rejected the recent National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report ranking the among states with the highest poverty levels.
Speaking during the opening of the state executive council meeting on Wednesday, the governor expressed scepticism about the methodology used in the data compilation, describing it as “arbitrary and subjective.”
“I may not agree with NBS. We are doing a lot of humanitarian support. What indices have they used? They should not go ahead arbitrarily and subjectively,” the governor remarked, questioning the credibility of the metrics used in the survey.
Governor Mohammed noted his administration’s ongoing efforts to combat poverty and improve livelihoods through various humanitarian programmes and service delivery.
He emphasised that Bauchi has been making significant strides in supporting vulnerable populations and driving development initiatives aimed at uplifting the standard of living through agriculture, payment of salaries, pensions and empowerment.
The governor urged the NBS to adopt a more transparent and evidence-based approach to their assessments, noting that inaccurate reports could undermine the hard work of state governments striving to address poverty.
