Giving a breakdown of the situation, the NBS report showed that states like Sokoto, Bayelsa, Gombe, Jigawa, and Plateau are the top poorest states in 2022.Sokoto leads the poorest with 90.5 per cent of poor people; followed by Bayelsa with 88.5 per cent, Gombe with 86.2 per cent, Jigawa with 84.3 per cent, and Plateau with 84 per cent.
Consultations and community dialogues were held with all stakeholders across the three Senatorial Districts in the state and the inputs collated were used to produce the draft policy. This situation led to the speedy adoption of the LASSPP in August 2020 and it presented the state with a new opportunity to begin a sincere and collaborative effort to reduce poverty. Commencing the process of policy development in 2013 and approving such in 2020 is definitely a long time, but the most imperative, at the moment, is the implementation of such policy to achieve its set goals and objectives.
Also important to note is that SP is meant to prevent and reduce poverty for individuals throughout ‘the life cycle’, which means SP is effective from birth to death, Adebusoye revealed, adding that, this essentially means that SP interventions shall systematically target all stages of life such that the socio-economic situation in one phase does not transmit to the next phase and cumulative benefits are achieved across generations.
With the above listed policy measures and many others, Adebusoye affirmed that the LASSPP, if fully implemented has the potential of reducing poverty among Lagosians, while urging Civil Society Organizations , to play their part in achieving the implementation of the policy. “To ensure that these potentials are not left ‘untapped’, CSOs have huge roles to play towards achieving the implementation of the policy,” he said.
A major challenge also is the non-existence of a LASSPP Implementation Plan with key performance indicators which would guide what is expected of different stakeholders involved, Adebusoye added.No doubt, engaged and informed citizens, through CSOs and Community Based Organizations , can drive the change and help the LASSPP to attain its numerous capabilities.
The best SPPolicy climes like this is the provision of infrastractural amenities such as roads( this creates ingress and egress), water and schools. Provision of these facilities develops businesses that leads to the best SPP. The best SSP is when people take care of themselves.