... they prefer building flyovers, airports to combating hunger.
Nigeria's central government has blamed the high level of poverty in the country on the State governors whom it accused of paying more attention on white elephant projects than reducing poverty and hunger among the people.
The Federal government lashed out at the State governors for what it described as the misplacement of priorities by placing more emphasis on the construction of flyovers and airports, rather than the improvement of lives in the rural areas.
The Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Chief Clement Agba conveyed the Federal government's misgivings while addressing State House correspondents in Abuja on Wednesday at the end of the meeting of the Executive Council of the Federation, chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Minister explained that 72% of the poverty in Nigeria is found in the rural areas, which he said had been abandoned by State governors.
According to him, the governors prefer to function in the state capitals at the expense of the rural dwellers who equally deserve improved social infrastructure and welfare.
While noting that the Federal government has done its best on poverty alleviation, Chief Agba regretted that there is no reflection of the amount of investment that had been done in the rural areas due to the activities of State governors.
The Minister pointedly accused State governors of using the building flyovers, airports and other irrelevant projects that are visible in the state capitals as conduit pipes for capital flights, rather than investing in areas that directly uplift the standard of life of the people in the rural areas.
Agba observed that while States are in charge of land for agriculture, their governors do not invest in them for the desired effect on their rural citizens, advising the State Chief Executives that rather than concentrate attention on the building of sky scrappers, flyovers and bridges, they should focus on initiatives that can pull the majority of the people out of poverty.
