The Presidency has dismissed the World Bank’s latest economic report estimating that 139 million Nigerians are living in poverty, describing the figure as “unrealistic” and detached from the nation’s current economic realities.

President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, said in a statement on Wednesday that while Nigeria values its partnership with the World Bank, the poverty figure must be “properly contextualised” within global measurement frameworks.

“While Nigeria appreciates the World Bank’s contributions to policy analysis, the figure quoted must be properly contextualised. It is unrealistic,” Dare stated in a post on his official X handle.

The Presidency explained that the World Bank’s estimate was based on the global poverty line of $2.15 per person per day, set in 2017 using the Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) model. It said the figure should not be mistaken for an actual headcount of poor Nigerians.

According to the government, when converted nominally, the $2.15 daily benchmark equals about N100,000 monthly—well above the newly approved national minimum wage of N70,000—making it an analytical construct rather than a real-time indicator.

“Poverty assessments using PPP rely on historical consumption data—Nigeria’s last major survey was in 2018/19—and often overlook the informal and subsistence sectors that sustain millions of households,” Dare said. “The government therefore considers the World Bank figure a modelled global projection, not an empirical reflection of conditions in 2025.”

He added that what truly matters is not the static number but the “direction of change,” noting that Nigeria’s economy is on a path of recovery and reform.

The Presidency highlighted several ongoing welfare and intervention programmes aimed at cushioning the impact of recent reforms while building the foundation for inclusive growth.

Among them are the Conditional Cash Transfer scheme, now expanded to reach 15 million households, with over N297 billion disbursed since 2023; the Renewed Hope Ward Development Programme, targeting all 8,809 electoral wards with micro-infrastructure and livelihoods support; and the National Social Investment Programmes, including N-Power and TraderMoni.

Also listed were food security initiatives, such as subsidised grain distribution and strategic food reserves, and major infrastructure projects financed through the Renewed Hope Infrastructure Fund to lower living costs and boost local employment.

“The Tinubu administration is tackling poverty by addressing structural distortions that have hindered productivity and inclusive growth for decades,” the statement read. “Painful but necessary reforms such as fuel subsidy removal and exchange rate unification are aimed at fixing root causes, not symptoms.”

It added that the government’s medium-term priority is to ensure macroeconomic stability translates into affordable food, quality jobs, and improved infrastructure. Investments are being ramped up in agriculture, manufacturing, and energy—including new gas-to-power projects and digital skill hubs.

“Nigerians should begin to feel more visible improvements in food prices, income, and purchasing power as these programmes mature,” the Presidency assured, reaffirming Tinubu’s commitment to building “a resilient and inclusive economy.”

Earlier on Wednesday, the World Bank had expressed concern that despite Nigeria’s economic stabilisation efforts, about 139 million citizens remained in poverty.

Presenting the October 2025 Nigeria Development Update titled “From Policy to People: Bringing the Reform Gains Home”, the bank’s Country Director for Nigeria, Mathew Verghis, commended the government’s reforms in the exchange rate and petroleum subsidy regimes but warned that the benefits were yet to reach ordinary citizens.

“Despite these stabilisation gains, many households are still struggling with eroded purchasing power,” Verghis said. “Poverty, which began rising in 2019, has continued to increase even after the reforms. In 2025, we estimate that 139 million Nigerians live in poverty.”

He likened Nigeria’s reform window to India’s early-1990s transformation, saying it offered a rare chance to reset the nation’s economic trajectory.

The figure represents a sharp rise from 129 million in April 2025 and 87 million in 2023, underscoring worsening household hardship despite ongoing reforms.

While the Presidency rejected the data, opposition parties, labour leaders, and economists offered mixed reactions.

The Labour Party’s Interim National Publicity Secretary, Tony Akeni, said the figures reflect the “grim realities” Nigerians face daily.

“Growth and inflation numbers on paper don’t mean much when ordinary citizens can’t afford essentials,” he said.

The NNPP’s spokesman, Ladipo Johnson, accused the government of worsening Nigeria’s debt crisis, while the PDP’s Deputy National Youth Leader, Timothy Osadolor, said, “We don’t need the World Bank to tell us there’s hunger in the land, you can see it everywhere.”

The Nigeria Labour Congress Assistant General Secretary, Chris Onyeka, said workers feel the crisis firsthand. “The N70,000 minimum wage, worth about $46 monthly, barely buys a bag of rice,” he said.

Economists offered a more nuanced view.
Muda Yusuf, CEO of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, said reforms had temporarily worsened poverty levels but were necessary for long-term stability. “The process of fixing what’s broken has aggravated poverty. The next phase must target cost-of-living relief,” he advised.

Former University of Uyo Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Akpan Ekpo, urged the government to pursue double-digit growth and invest in human capital. “Cash transfers won’t solve poverty, deliberate, sustained policies will,” he said.

Former CIBN President Okechukwu Unegbu and Proshare Chief Economist Teslim Shitta-Bey agreed that while reforms were crucial, their benefits must quickly reach households.

“Exchange rate unification and subsidy removal were inevitable, but the challenge now is ensuring the gains reach ordinary Nigerians,” Shitta-Bey noted.