Poverty Surges to 63% Under Tinubu, World Bank Data Confirms

The World Bank has reported that poverty in Nigeria climbed to 63 percent in 2025, affecting an estimated 140 million people, even as headline inflation declined sharply from 34.80 percent in December 2024 to 15.15 percent in December 2025. The report shows poverty rising steadily from 56 percent in 2023 to 61 percent in 2024, before reaching 63 percent in 2025.

The Senior Special Assistant to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar on Public Communication, Mr Phrank Shaibu, on Friday described the figures as an indictment of the economic trajectory under President Bola Tinubu. In a statement issued in Abuja, Shaibu said the surge from 40 percent poverty rate represented “regression on a monumental scale.”

Shaibu attributed the worsening hardship to what he termed “poorly conceived and harshly implemented policies,” specifically citing the “abrupt removal of fuel subsidies” and the “chaotic devaluation of the naira.” He argued these measures were “executed without adequate safeguards for the Nigerian people.”

“Food prices have spiralled out of control, inflation has wiped out incomes, small businesses are collapsing, and millions more Nigerians are being pushed into extreme poverty,” Shaibu stated. He described the government‘s approach as “economic shock therapy imposed on a vulnerable population.”

Shaibu further asserted that “a government that presides over a situation where the majority of its people are poor, yet insists that progress is being made, has lost both moral authority and economic direction.” He said the administration is “dangerously disconnected from the lived realities of its citizens.”

The World Bank, while noting that Nigeria’s economy strengthened in early 2026 driven by stabilisation reforms, acknowledged that poverty has yet to decline. The Bank projects poverty will begin falling gradually from 2026, reaching about 59 percent by 2028, as inflation continues to ease and macroeconomic conditions stabilise.

The statement outlined an alternative approach attributed to Atiku Abubakar, described as “rooted in experience, pragmatism, and compassion.” It called for reforms that are “carefully sequenced, not recklessly imposed,” with social protection that is “real, targeted, and transparent.” The proposed strategy focuses on stabilising the economy through fiscal and monetary policy coordination while “rebuilding productivity through support for small businesses, agriculture, and industry.”

The World Bank has warned that increased pre-election spending could undermine gains from recent fiscal reforms and higher oil revenues.