Thursday, October 9, 2025 - The World Bank Group has announced
that about 139 million Nigerians are now living in poverty despite the reforms
of the federal government which has yielded more revenues for the government in
all tiers.
Mathew
Verghis, country director, World Bank Nigeria stated this at the launch of the
Nigerian Development Update in Abuja on Wednesday, October 8.
He noted that
poverty which started to rise in 2019 due to policy missteps and external
shocks including COVID has continued to increase even after the reforms.
Verghis said
Nigeria’s economic growth has picked up, with revenues rising, debt indicators
improving, foreign exchange market stabilizing, reserves rising and inflation
beginning to ease.
He said: “So
these results are exactly what you need to see in a stabilization. These are
big achievements, however despite these stabilization gains many Nigerians are
still struggling. Most households are struggling with eroded purchasing
power.
“In 2025 we
estimate that 139 million Nigerians live in poverty. So the challenge is clear,
how to translate the gains from the stabilization reforms into better living
standards for all.”
Verghis emphasized
that Nigeria must reduce inflation particularly food inflation, ensure
effective use of public funds and expand safety nets, to address the high rate
of poverty in the country, and ensure that citizens enjoy the gains of
reforms.
“Food
inflation affects everybody but particularly the poor and has the potential to
undermine political support for the reforms. Use public resources more
effectively ensuring that spending drives real development results that benefit
people and three, expanding the safety net so that the poorest and vulnerable
get support,” he added.
Presenting
the overview of the report, titled: ‘From Policy to people: bringing the reform
gains home’, Samer Matta, world bank lead economist for Nigeria noted that
gross revenues collected as federation allocations have increased greatly in
the past 8 months of 2025.
He however
decried the huge sum being paid as deductions to revenue collecting agencies,
stating that it does not impact development in the country.
According to
Matta, the outlook is cautiously optimistic, supported by steady growth, easing
inflation, fiscal stability, and a strong external position amid ongoing
risks.
According to
the report, GDP growth is projected to rise modestly from to 4.4 percent in
2027, driven by strong services, a rebound in agriculture, and improved
industrial activity amid a more stable environment.
The Bank
expects inflation to ease to 15.8 percent in 2027, supported by tight monetary
policy and easing supply pressures, also the fiscal deficit is expected to
average 2.7 percent of GDP in 2026-27, supported by rising revenues from tax
reforms and lower interest payments, keeping debt stable in the low 40 percent
of GDP.
The report
showed higher spending by both federal and subnational governments. Subnational
governments recorded increase in their capital expenditure (capex), which
accounts for almost 60-65 percent of their spending.
It also rose
from almost one percent of GDP in 2022 to 2.7 percent of GDP projected in
2025.
However, in
the period under review, wages and salaries account for around 70 percent of
the spending of the federal government which doesn’t leave too much space for
capex.
“The outlook
is subject to several risks: growth and disinflation remain vulnerable to oil
price shocks, reform fatigue, election uncertainties, and climate shocks,” the
report indicated.
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