The Social Economic Rights and Accountability Project has stated that over 27 million Nigerians earned less than N100, 000 per annum.

This was disclosed in a statement titled, ‘How corruption is plunging Nigerians further into poverty’ signed by SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare.

According to the statement, which was culled from a report presented titled, ‘the ignored pandemic: How corruption in the health, education and water sectors is plunging Nigerians further into poverty’, budget fraud and other illegal actions are responsible for the failure of service delivery to the Nigerian people.

The 61-page report launched at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos, also discloses that, “corruption contributes to poverty and consequential suffering of people living in poor neighbourhoods”.

It added, “Budget fraud, procurement fraud, embezzlement of funds among other illegal actions, lead to failure in the delivery of services, including education, water and health. People living in poor neighbourhoods have suffered so much that they consider poor service delivery as being good enough.

“Also, 57.3 percent of people living in poor neighborhoods were youths between 18 and 35 years old. Poor people are victims and not perpetrators of corruption in the health, education and water sectors.

“Again, 48.90 per cent of people living in poverty, that is, more than 27,453,154 (twenty-seven million, four hundred and fifty-three thousand, one hundred and fifty-four) earned less than N100,000 while 27.9 per cent, that is more than 15,663,456, earned between N100, 000 and N200, 000 per annum.