The Presidency has rejected the World Bank’s report estimating that 139 million Nigerians live 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, Sunday Dare, said the poverty figures must be “properly contextualised” within the limits of global poverty measurement models.
Dare 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.
He 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.
The Presidency argued that poverty assessment under the PPP methodology uses historical consumption data and often overlooks the informal and subsistence economies that sustain millions of households. The government considers the World Bank’s estimate as “a modelled global projection, not an empirical representation of living conditions in 2025.”
The Presidency highlighted the government’s efforts to address poverty, including expanded welfare and intervention programmes, such as Conditional Cash Transfers, Renewed Hope Ward Development Programme, National Social Investment Programmes, and food security initiatives. The government emphasized that economic recovery alone is not enough unless it translates into real welfare gains for ordinary Nigerians.
The Presidency reaffirmed President Tinubu’s commitment to building “a resilient and inclusive economy” where growth directly improves living standards. The government concluded that it rejects exaggerated statistical interpretations detached from local realities and remains focused on empowering households, expanding opportunity, and laying the foundation for a fairer, more prosperous nation.
The World Bank had expressed concern that despite Nigeria’s recent economic stabilisation efforts, about 139 million Nigerians are living in poverty, warning that the country risks losing hard-won reform gains if policies are not translated into tangible improvements in citizens’ welfare.
The World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Mathew Verghis, commended Nigeria’s bold reforms in the exchange rate and petroleum subsidy regimes, but cautioned that these macroeconomic improvements had yet to translate into improved living conditions for ordinary Nigerians.