…as 12 southern states post lowest poverty rates, between 0.2%, 3.5%
Imo State has emerged as the state with the second-lowest poverty rate in the country in 2025. This the commissioner for Information in the state, Mbadiwe Emelumba said came In spite of the global economic headwinds ravaging Nigeria.
DrumAfricanews reports that the results of the survey, conducted by StatiSense, a globally recognised institution, showed that Imo came second with 0.3%, behind only Lagos State, which posted 0.2%.
Emelumba said Imo’s position owes largely to the regular payment of salaries and pensions by the Hope Uzodimma administration.
He said that with the attendant liquidity and cash flow, the state’s economy has been able to withstand the shock of hardship and its resultant poverty.
Emelumba said that without the governor’s proper leadership, there is no way in a nationwide survey on the performance of the 36 states and Abuja in the management of poverty, Imo recorded the second-lowest poverty rate in Nigeria, despite what the state has been through.
DrumAfricanews gathered that the 12 states that posted the lowest poverty rates, between 0.2% and 3.5%, are all from the southern part of the country, with the exception of Abuja.
The five South-East states were among the 12, with Imo recording the lowest poverty rate in the zone, followed by Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Abia, which brought up the rear at 3.4%.
Also mong the South-West states, Lagos recorded the lowest rate, followed by Osun and Ekiti with 1.6% and 3.5% respectively.
In the South-South, Rivers State came first with 1.6%, Edo second with 1.7%, and Delta third with 3.1%.
