The Vice-Presidential Candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 elections, Mr Peter Obi, has denounced the rate of poverty in Nigeria.

The former Anambra state governor warned that no nation can develop and prosper with a rising large poor population as in Nigeria.

Obi said this on Monday in a statement to mark the World Poverty Day, according to Daily Post.

Obi revealed that the “poverty rate in Nigeria should worry every concerned leader because there couldn’t be national growth under this situation.''

He said: ''Poverty is dehumanizing, it is therefore left for humanity to create a better world by putting measures in place to eradicate poverty and give everyone the chance to live a meaningful life.”

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He asked government agencies, organizations and wealthy people around the country to join hands to combat poverty and reduce it to the barest minimum so as to have a safe environment.

The PDP ex-candidate lamented that the country “has become the poverty capital of the world, with over 90 million people living in poverty and more than 15 million out-of-school children roaming the streets, Obi said that the government could not  continue to turn a blind eye to such depressing situation.”

Obi advised the Federal and state governments to invest in economic growth, noting that doing so would “lift people out of poverty in no distant time noting that investment in education and health, and support for small businesses, remain the pivotal ways of eradicating poverty in any nation.”

“To combat poverty in Nigeria, organizations and wealthy individuals must deploy their resources to support government investments in these critical areas.''