Two different stories on All Africa today pose two very different assumptions on the economy in Nigeria. Dr. Magnus Kpakol head of the poverty reduction program for the government of Nigeria says that the poverty rate is falling. However, the head economist at Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Dr. Mike Duru says that the poverty rate is rising.

First from this Daily Trust article that we found at All Africa, we find Dr. Kpakol’s comments.

Daily Trust had reported that in 1980, 28% of Nigerians were poor; in 1985 the poverty ratio grew to 46% and dropped to 42% in 19992. In 1996, the ratio was 65.6%, in 1990 it was 70% and in 2004 it fell to 54.4%. He said the current poverty rate is less than 50 per cent and that Nigerians are richer.

…Read the rest of the article at Poverty News Blog