The Presidency has dismissed a recent World Bank report which claimed that about 139 million Nigerians are living in poverty, describing the figure as “unrealistic” and not reflective of the country’s current economic realities.
In a statement issued on Thursday, President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, said the global lender’s data must be properly contextualised within international 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,” Dare stated on his official X account.
The Presidency explained that the World Bank’s estimate was derived from the global poverty line of $2.15 per person per day, set in 2017 using Purchasing Power Parity (PPP). It noted that this benchmark should not be interpreted as an exact count of Nigerians living below the poverty line.
According to Dare, converting the $2.15 benchmark into local currency amounts to nearly ₦100,000 per month, which is higher than the new national minimum wage of ₦70,000 — an indication that the figure does not directly align with local income realities.
He stressed that poverty assessments based on PPP rely heavily on historical consumption data — the last major national survey being from 2018/2019 — and often fail to capture Nigeria’s large informal and subsistence sectors that sustain millions of households.
“The government 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,” Dare said.
The Presidency further outlined several ongoing programmes under the Tinubu administration aimed at tackling poverty and supporting vulnerable households. These include:
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Conditional Cash Transfers: Expanded to reach 15 million households, with over ₦297 billion disbursed since 2023.
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Renewed Hope Ward Development Programme: Targeting all 8,809 wards nationwide with micro-infrastructure, livelihood support, and community-based services.
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National Social Investment Programmes: Strengthened components such as N-Power, TraderMoni, MarketMoni, and FarmerMoni.
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Food Security Initiatives: Subsidised grain distribution, fertiliser support, and revival of strategic reserves.
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Renewed Hope Infrastructure Fund: Financing major energy, road, and housing projects.
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National Credit Guarantee Company: Expanding credit access for small businesses, women, and youth.
The statement added that the administration is addressing long-standing structural challenges — including overreliance on imports, weak productivity, and regional inequality — through reforms such as fuel subsidy removal, exchange rate unification, and fiscal redirection toward productive sectors.
“Even the World Bank itself has acknowledged that these reforms are already restoring macroeconomic stability and renewed growth momentum,” the Presidency said.
It emphasised that the government’s medium-term goal is to ensure that macroeconomic stability translates into tangible benefits for citizens, including affordable food, quality jobs, and improved infrastructure.
“President Tinubu’s administration remains committed to reducing poverty, empowering households, and building a resilient, inclusive economy. Nigeria rejects exaggerated statistical interpretations detached from local realities,” Dare concluded.
The World Bank, in its latest Nigeria Development Update (NDU) released on Wednesday, had estimated that 139 million Nigerians still live in poverty despite ongoing reforms.
The Bank’s Country Director for Nigeria, Mathew Verghis, while presenting the report in Abuja, commended the Federal Government’s policy efforts to stabilise the economy but warned that more needs to be done to improve living standards across the country.
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