Oxfam in Nigeria says three of the richest Nigerian citizens are wealthier than 83 million others put together.
This is contained in a report titled ‘Davos 2023 Inequality Report’ unveiled at a media briefing yesterday in Abuja.
Ahead of the global conference of world leaders scheduled for next week in Davos Switzerland, the Country Director, of Oxfam in Nigeria, Vincent Ahonsi, presented the report.
Represented by the Deputy Programmes Director and Budget Business Development Manager of the organisation, Regina Afiemo, Ahonsi presented the report alongside the executive Director, of Connected Development, Hamza Lawal; Coordinator, of Climate Justice Project, Oxfam in Nigeria, Kenneth Akpan and Project Coordinator, Fiscal Accountability for Inequality Reduction, Henry Ushie.
They said there must be higher taxation of the world’s super-rich persons to breach the inequality gap in many sectors, and that for the past decades, they extraordinarily grabbed half of all new wealth, at the expense of other citizens.
According to the report, while billionaire fortunes are increasing by $2.7bn daily; at least 1.7bn workers now live in countries where inflation is outpacing wages.
The report also said a tax of up to five per cent on the world’s multi-millionaires and billionaires could raise $1.7trn a year, enough to lift two billion people out of poverty.
According to the report, in Nigeria, the richest 0.003 per cent of Nigerians (6,355 individuals worth $5m and above) have 1.4 times more wealth than 107m other Nigerians.
“A wealth tax of two per cent on the millionaires, three per cent on those with wealth above $50m and five per cent on the Nigerian billionaires would raise $3.2bn annually. This would be enough to double health spending.”