The Nigerian Presidency has disputed the latest economic report from the World Bank, which estimates that 139 million Nigerians live in poverty. According to the government, the figure is “unrealistic” and does not accurately reflect the country’s economic conditions. President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, stated that the poverty statistics need to be “properly contextualised” within the framework of global poverty measurement models.
The World Bank’s estimate is based on the global poverty line of $2.15 per person per day, established in 2017 using Purchasing Power Parity (PPP). However, the Presidency clarified that this figure should not be interpreted as an exact count of Nigerians living in poverty. When converted to local currency, the $2.15 daily poverty line equals roughly ₦100,000 per month, which is well above Nigeria’s new minimum wage of ₦70,000.
The government argued that poverty estimates based on the PPP methodology depend heavily on historical consumption data and often fail to capture the extensive informal and subsistence economies that support millions of Nigerian households. Consequently, the government views the World Bank’s estimate as “a modelled global projection, not an empirical reflection of living conditions in 2025.”
The Presidency emphasized that the focus should not be on static poverty figures but on the overall direction of change. According to the government, Nigeria’s economy is now on a path of recovery and reform, guided by policies aimed at fostering inclusive growth and strengthening social protection. The current administration has expanded several welfare and intervention programmes to cushion the impact of recent reforms, while laying the foundation for long-term economic prosperity.
Some of the key initiatives being implemented by the Tinubu administration to combat poverty and support vulnerable populations include conditional cash transfers, renewed hope ward development programmes, national social investment programmes, food security initiatives, and renewed hope infrastructure funds. The government maintained that these reforms are necessary to tackle the root causes of poverty and ensure that economic recovery results in tangible gains for citizens.
The World Bank’s Country Director for Nigeria, Mathew Verghis, commended the government for taking steps to stabilise the economy through recent policy reforms. However, he warned that more needs to be done to ensure better living standards for Nigerians. The Nigerian government remains committed to reducing the incidence of poverty and empowering households to expand opportunities and build a resilient, inclusive economy.