The Presidency has disputed the latest economic report by Nigeria’s biggest multilateral lender, the World Bank, which estimated that 139 million citizens were living in poverty, describing the figure as “unrealistic” and detached from the country’s economic realities.
President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Media and Public Communication, Mr Sunday Dare, said in a post on his social media handle that the poverty figures must be “properly contextualised” within the limits of global poverty measurement models.
“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, Mr Dare said.
The Presidency explained that the 139 million figure was derived from the global poverty line of $2.15 per person per day, set in 2017 using Purchasing Power Parity, and should not be mistaken for an actual headcount of poor Nigerians.
It noted that when converted to nominal terms, the $2.15 benchmark equals about N100,000 per month at current exchange rates, which is well above Nigeria’s new minimum wage of N70,000.
According to the former minister, poverty estimates under the PPP methodology rely on historical consumption data, often overlooking the vast informal and subsistence economies that sustain millions of Nigerian households. The government, therefore, considers the World Bank’s estimate as “a modelled global projection, not an empirical representation of living conditions in 2025.”
He stressed that what truly matters is not the static figure but the direction of change. It said Nigeria’s economy is now on a recovery and reform trajectory, driven by policies designed to ensure inclusive growth and social protection.
It noted that the current administration had expanded a number of welfare and intervention programmes aimed at cushioning the impact of recent reforms, while laying the groundwork for long-term prosperity.
The Presidency maintained that the President Tinubu administration was tackling Nigeria’s poverty challenge by addressing the structural distortions that have constrained productivity and inclusive growth for decades.
It cited ongoing reforms such as fuel subsidy removal, exchange rate unification, and the fiscal reallocation of funds toward productive sectors, describing them as “painful but necessary choices” to fix the root causes of poverty rather than its symptoms.
“Even the World Bank itself has acknowledged that these reforms are already restoring macroeconomic stability and growth momentum,” the statement added, referencing recent remarks by World Bank officials acknowledging signs of economic recovery under the President Tinubu administration.
The government emphasised that economic recovery alone is not enough unless it translates into real welfare gains for ordinary Nigerians.
Investments are being ramped up in agriculture, manufacturing, and power reliability, including new gas-to-power projects and skill development hubs expected to boost job creation and reduce living costs.
He likened the current reform window to the historic policy shifts seen in countries like India in the early 1990s, noting that such rare opportunities must be seized decisively or risk being lost.
According to him, the reforms are already yielding results, growth is picking up, revenues have risen, debt indicators are improving, the foreign exchange market is stabilising, reserves are climbing, and inflation is gradually easing.
Punch/Halima Abdulganiyu
