The Presidency has faulted the latest World Bank report, claiming that about 139 million Nigerians are currently living in poverty, describing the figure as “unrealistic, exaggerated, and detached from Nigeria’s actual economic conditions.”
President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, made this known on Thursday via his official 𝕏 handle, insisting that the figures must be properly contextualised within global poverty measurement frameworks before being accepted as fact.
“While Nigeria values its partnership with the World Bank and appreciates its contributions to policy analysis, the figure quoted must be properly contextualised. It is unrealistic,” Dare said.
The Presidency clarified that the World Bank’s estimate was based on the global poverty line of $2.15 per person per day, a benchmark adopted in 2017 under the Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) methodology, and should not be interpreted as an actual headcount of Nigerians living below the poverty line.
“There must be caution against interpreting the World Bank’s numbers as a literal, real-time headcount,” Dare stated.
“The estimate is derived from the global poverty line of $2.15 per person per day, a benchmark set in 2017 PPP terms. If converted nominally, that figure equals about $64.5 per month, or nearly ₦100,000 at today’s exchange rate, well above Nigeria’s new minimum wage of ₦70,000. Clearly, the measure is an analytical construct, not a direct reflection of local income realities.”
According to him, such benchmarks, when applied to Nigeria, do not consider the country’s unique economic structure, cost differentials, or the subsistence-based livelihoods that sustain millions of households across rural and semi-urban communities.
The Presidency argued that PPP-based poverty assessments rely heavily on historical consumption data, Nigeria’s last major household survey being from 2018/2019, and therefore fail to reflect present economic dynamics or capture informal sector activities that form the backbone of Nigeria’s real economy.
“Poverty assessment under PPP methodology uses historical consumption data and often overlooks the informal and subsistence economies that sustain millions of households. The government, therefore, regards the figure as a modelled global estimate, not an empirical representation of conditions in 2025. What truly matters is the trajectory, and Nigeria’s is now one of recovery and inclusive reform,” the statement read.
‘Focus Should Be on Progress, Not Projections’
Dare maintained that the Federal Government does not view the World Bank’s figure as an indictment but as an opportunity to demonstrate ongoing progress.
He noted that Nigeria’s economy, despite earlier shocks, was now stabilising and showing signs of recovery through reforms and targeted social interventions.
“What truly matters is not a static figure but the direction of change. Nigeria’s economy is on a path of recovery and inclusive reform. The Tinubu administration is tackling the structural distortions that have hindered productivity and inclusive growth for decades,” he said.
FG Lists Anti-poverty Initiatives and Reform Milestones
The Presidency outlined several ongoing measures under President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda aimed at reducing poverty and cushioning the impact of economic reforms on citizens.
Among the initiatives listed are:
- Conditional Cash Transfer Programme: Expanded to reach 15 million households nationwide, using a digitally verified National Social Register. Over ₦297 billion has been disbursed since 2023 to poor and vulnerable families.
- Renewed Hope Ward Development Programme: Targeting all 8,809 electoral wards to deliver micro-infrastructure, livelihoods, and essential social services directly at the community level.
- National Social Investment Programmes (NSIP): Strengthened initiatives such as N-Power, GEEP micro-loans (TraderMoni, MarketMoni, FarmerMoni), and the Home-Grown School Feeding Programme, designed to protect jobs, empower small businesses, and keep children in school.
- Food Security Interventions: Distribution of subsidised grains and fertilisers, agricultural mechanisation partnerships, and the revival of strategic food reserves to ease inflationary pressures on staple food prices.
- Renewed Hope Infrastructure Fund: Financing key energy, road, and housing projects to reduce living costs and generate employment.
- National Credit Guarantee Company: Expanding access to affordable credit for small businesses, women, and youth entrepreneurs through risk-sharing arrangements with commercial banks.
Dare said these interventions, combined with exchange rate reforms and fiscal discipline, were already producing measurable macroeconomic results.
‘Reforms Tough But Necessary’ – Presidency
The statement further stressed that while reforms such as fuel subsidy removal, exchange rate unification, and fiscal redirection toward productive sectors were tough, they were “necessary to fix deep-rooted inefficiencies” that had hindered national productivity for decades.
“The World Bank’s assessment must understand the long-standing structural distortions this administration is actively correcting, including overdependence on imports, productivity constraints, and regional inequality,” Dare noted.
“These reforms are already restoring macroeconomic stability and renewed growth momentum. Even the World Bank itself has acknowledged that these reforms are working.”
He emphasised that the government’s next focus was to ensure that macroeconomic stability translates into tangible welfare gains for citizens, through affordable food, quality jobs, and reliable infrastructure.
Reiterating the government’s confidence in its economic direction, Dare said the Tinubu administration was determined to ensure that the benefits of growth reach ordinary Nigerians.
“Nigeria rejects exaggerated statistical interpretations detached from local realities,” he stated.
“The government remains focused on empowering households, expanding opportunity, and building a resilient, inclusive economy where growth translates directly to improved living standards. The reforms are necessary. The direction is right. The foundation for a fairer and more prosperous Nigeria is being firmly laid.”
At the launch of the October 2025 Nigeria Development Update (NDU) in Abuja, World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Mathew Verghis, had said that despite recent fiscal and monetary reforms, poverty levels remained high.
“Despite these stabilisation gains, many households are still struggling with eroded purchasing power,” he said. “In 2025, we estimate that 139 million Nigerians live in poverty.”
Verghis commended the Federal Government’s removal of petrol subsidies and exchange rate unification as bold and foundational steps, but warned that unless the gains of these reforms are channelled into improved living conditions, the impact could be lost.
“Nigeria must translate macroeconomic stability into better living standards for its people. The challenge now is to move from policy to people,” Verghis said.
The World Bank report, titled “From Policy to People: Bringing the Reform Gains Home,” highlighted the need for Nigeria to focus on reducing inflation, improving public spending efficiency, and expanding social protection programmes for vulnerable citizens.
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