Tag: Poverty index

‘139m Nigerians now in poverty despite reform gains” – World Bank

Aminu Imam
W'Bank on 9ja poverty

The World Bank has expressed concern that despite Nigeria’s recent economic stabilisation efforts, about 139 million citizens are now living in poverty, warning that the country risks losing reform gains if they fail to translate into tangible improvements in people’s welfare. The World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Mathew Verghis, disclosed this yesterday in Abuja, at the launch of the October 2025 Nigeria Development Update titled: “From Policy to People: Bringing the Reform Gains Home”. The Nigeria Development Update is the bank’s biannual flagship report that reviews economic trends, policy…

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“Nigeria has 2nd-highest number of poor people globally” – Former NBS boss, Yemi Kale

Aminu Imam
Ex NBS boss, Yemi Kale

Former Statistician-General of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Yemi Kale, says approximately 89 million people, or 40% of Nigeria’s population, now live below the poverty line. Kale, currently the group’s Chief Economist and Managing Director of research and trade intelligence at Afreximbank, spoke at ‘The Platform’ Nigeria’s Independence Day event, themed: ‘Rebuilding Our Nation’. According to the economist, Nigeria is the country with the second-highest number of poor people globally after India. “To grasp the magnitude of this number, we can consider that fewer than 20 of the world’s…

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Marginalisation: ’83m Nigerians remain poor, just 10% control 90% of Nigeria’s wealth’ – Oxfam

Aminu Imam
Oxfam on marginalisation

Oxfam’s Country Director in Nigeria, John Makina, has said the nation’s inequality crisis continues to enrich a privileged minority while trapping millions in poverty. Speaking on Thursday in Abuja at a dialogue, themed: “The Next 90%: Youth, Policy & A Fairer Nigeria”, Makina said 10% of Nigerians controls 90% of the country’s resources, leaving over 83 million people to survive on less than ₦3,100 ($2) a day. “This means not having enough money for good schools, healthcare and other basic amenities,” he said. “More than two-thirds of teenage girls in…

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‘Extreme poverty rising fast in Nigeria, 38 others’ – World Bank

Aminu Imam
World Bank on rising poverty2

The World Bank has warned that extreme poverty is growing rapidly in Nigeria and 38 other economies affected by conflict and instability, worsening hunger and pushing development goals further out of reach. The bank made this known in a statement released on Friday titled: “Extreme Poverty is Rising Fast in Economies Hit by Conflict, Instability”, based on its post-Covid assessment of fragile and conflict-affected states. Nigeria is listed among the 39 economies the bank classified as being in Fragile and Conflict-Affected Situations, a group that includes Afghanistan, Sudan, Syria, Yemen,…

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‘Rural poverty in Nigeria now 75%’ – World Bank

Aminu Imam
W'Bank on rural poverty2

The World Bank has revealed that a staggering 75.5 percent of rural dwellers now live below the poverty line in Nigeria. The Bank, which disclosed this in its ‘April 2025 Poverty and Equity Brief for Nigeria’ report, paints a bleak picture of rising economic hardship, growing inequality, and persistent underdevelopment across large parts of the country. According to the report, while 41.3 percent of Nigeria’s urban population lives in poverty, the situation is significantly worse in rural areas, where economic stagnation, inflation, and insecurity have combined to deepen hardship. Based…

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Economic Hardship: ‘6’ months after, Nigerian poverty rate on the rise’ – World Bank

Aminu Imam
World Bank

The deplorable state of the nation, the hardship level, the heartbreaking state of Internally-Displaced Persons (IDP) camps, and the Increasing Poverty Rate in Nigeria is a damning indictment of President Tinubu ‘Renewed Hope’ mandates promise to Nigerians. The further suspension of the Activities of Humanitarian Affairs and all departments of the Ministry shows a lack of sincerity on the side of Mr. President to address the dire need of the poorest of the poor. These camps, intended as a haven for those fleeing conflict and instability, have become a cruel…

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‘North-West has highest rate of poverty in Nigeria’ – Ribadu

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NSA Ribadu

National Security Adviser (NSA) to the President, Nuhu Ribadu, has decried the high level of poverty in Northern Nigeria, especially the North-West geo-political zone. According to him, as of 2019, the region had the highest poverty rate in the country, with a national average of 40.1 percent. Ribadu, while delivering his paper titled: Navigating the Maze: Addressing Multi-Dimensional Insecurity Challenges in Northern Nigeria, at the combined convocation lecture of Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto yesterday, identified Sokoto as the worst-hit in the region. He said about 87.73 percent of the State’s…

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63% Nigerians face abject poverty – UNICEF

Aminu Imam

The United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) has expressed concern over poverty level of ordinary Nigerians, lamenting that 63 percent of Nigerians faces deprivation and other forms of poverty in the country. Speaking at the opening ceremony of a two-day policy and programmatic dialogue workshop on Nigerias poverty profile and social register Tuesday in Abuja, UNICEF Nigeria Representative, Cristian Munduate, said she had personally witnessed the menace of poverty across the country and its accompanying toll in several aspects of peoples lives, including in the area of education. From Lagos to…

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“We are worried 100 million Nigerians live below poverty line” – China

Aminu Imam

The Republic of China has expressed its concern that Nigerians, many living below the poverty line, continue to grapple with grinding penury. According to the Chinese ambassador to Nigeria, Cui Jianchun, We have lifted more than 700 million people out of poverty in China; and in Nigeria, there are 200 million, with 100 million living below the poverty line; this is my great concern. And efforts that make me try to do things for Nigeria, and the most important thing now is agriculture. The diplomat stated this on Tuesday when…

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133 million Nigerians, 86m in North, 47m in South are multi-dimensionally poor NBS

Aminu Imam

Poverty index now to be used for resource allocation – Buhari The Federal Government has disclosed that 63 percent of persons within Nigeria, 133 million, are living in poverty. The figure was presented during the launch of Nigerias Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) Survey in Abuja, yesterday. It was conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the National Social Safety-Nets Coordinating Office (NASSCO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF), and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI). The measure used to calculate the…

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