Kebbi govt accuses Malami of politicising UNDP poverty report

The Kebbi State Government has condemned ADC governorship candidate Abubakar Malami for alleged politicization of a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) poverty report ahead of the 2027 elections. The Commissioner for Information and Culture, Yakubu Ahmed-BK, spoke out against Malami's criticisms of Governor Nasir Idris's administration in regards to poverty, insecurity and water scarcity.

Ahmed-BK accused Malami of selectively presenting the data, which ranked Kebbi among Nigeria's poorest states, without considering the time frame of the report or the measures being taken by the current administration. He emphasized that poverty is an urgent social issue, not a political asset to be exploited for electoral gain.

Ahmed-BK called on Malami to explain his own efforts in improving Kebbi residents' lives during his tenure in the federal government under President Buhari, and questioned the relevance of using the UNDP report to evaluate the current administration's performance without first determining the period covered by the data. Regarding insecurity, Ahmed-BK dismissed Malami's claim of 200 deaths in Tadurga Ward of Zuru Emirate, noting that local authorities and the Zuru Emirate Council provided lower casualty estimates.

The commissioner urged Malami and other political figures to present factual policy solutions for addressing poverty, insecurity, unemployment and lack of access to essential services.