The World Bank on Wednesday expressed deep concern over Nigeria’s worsening poverty level, revealing that despite recent economic stabilisation efforts, about 139 million citizens are now living in poverty.

The Bank warned that the country risks losing the gains of its ongoing reforms if they fail to bring real improvements to the lives of ordinary Nigerians.

The disclosure was made by World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Mathew Verghis, on Wednesday in Abuja during the launch of the October 2025 Nigeria Development Update titled “From Policy to People: Bringing the Reform Gains Home.”

Since the release of the report, reactions have continued to trail the findings from various quarters, civil activists, opposition parties, and the Nigerian government itself.

While many Nigerians say the report mirrors the harsh realities of daily life, the Presidency has strongly disputed the World Bank’s figures, describing them as unrealistic and disconnected from the country’s actual economic conditions.

In a statement issued on Thursday through President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Media and Public Communications, Sunday Dare, the government said the poverty statistics must be properly contextualised within the framework of global 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 wrote on his official X account.

The Presidency explained that the 139 million poverty estimate was derived from the global poverty line of $2.15 per person per day, which was set in 2017 using the Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) model.

According to the government, this should not be seen as an exact count of Nigerians living in poverty.

It further argued that when converted to local currency, the global poverty line of $2.15 per day amounts to about ₦100,000 per month, a figure that surpasses Nigeria’s new minimum wage of ₦70,000, making it an analytical construct rather than a real-time reflection of income realities.

“President Tinubu’s administration is committed to reducing the incidence of poverty. Nigeria rejects exaggerated statistical interpretations detached from local realities,” the presidency had said.

However, not everyone agrees with the government’s position, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in a statement on Thursday urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to accept the recent World Bank report showing a sharp rise in poverty across Nigeria.

According to ADC, it is clear proof that his administration’s economic policies have worsened the living conditions of millions of citizens.

North has been reduced below level of slaves – Mahdi Shehu 

Civil rights activist, Mahdi Shehu, described the recent World Bank report as a reflection of the harsh reality that citizens have been living through for years.

In an exclusive interview with DAILY POST on Thursday, Shehu said the report did not come as a surprise to those who understand what Nigerians have been going through, especially since 2015.

“Yesterday’s assertion by the World Bank that 139 million Nigerians are facing acute hunger is not news to those who know what Nigerians have been going through, particularly from 2015 to date,” he said.

Shehu added that the hunger figure only represents a small portion of the bigger tragedy unfolding in the country.

“Add this figure to over 30 million out-of-school children, over 600 children dying daily from acute malnutrition, the growing unemployment rate, and you will understand the bigger picture of the current despair, despondency, decay, and hopelessness in Nigeria,” he stated.

According to him, Nigeria has now become a place where everybody is on his own, everybody for himself, God for us all, survival of the fittest and the devil take the hindmost.

The activist blamed years of poor leadership and misplaced priorities for the worsening poverty, especially in the northern part of the country.

He said the North has become the worst victim of economic dispossession and social collapse.

“The worst hit in terms of economic dispossession is the northern part of Nigeria, where over 80 percent of the population have been pushed into permanent, irreversible economic bondage,” Shehu lamented.

He said this condition has led to broken homes, malnutrition, increasing deaths from preventable diseases, hopelessness, and a complete breakdown of values and ethics.

Speaking further, Shehu said democracy has brought nothing but pain and misery to people in the region.

“For the northern part of Nigeria, democracy means nothing to them. It is a system that has decimated them, destroyed their cohesion, trade, and commerce, ruined their well-being, and reduced them to the level below that of slaves in a country where they are said to be citizens,” he said.

He faulted political leaders for neglecting the poor while enriching themselves, adding that the situation has left ordinary Nigerians feeling abandoned and betrayed.

“The leaders live in comfort and luxury while the people suffer in silence. What we have now is not democracy; it is a system of oppression sustained by hunger, fear, and deceit,” he concluded.

Rejecting report is injustice to the poor – Bello

Hon. Jafar Sani Bello, a politician and public affairs analyst in an exclusive interview with DAILY POST on Thursday said that dismissing the recent poverty report released by a reputable international organization would amount to an injustice and an insult to millions of poor Nigerians who are directly affected by the country’s economic hardship.

According to him, the report, though ugly and unpalatable, reflects the harsh reality faced by many Nigerians, especially in the northern region.

“It’s a report from a reputable organization, and despite its ugly and unpalatable look, we have to accept it and look for ways and means to bring succor to those captured in the web,” Bello said.

“Dismissing the report will amount to a grave injustice and insult to those affected.”

He explained that the northern region has been hit the hardest by poverty, owing to several economic and security challenges.

“I believe the North is adversely affected, and there are numerous factors responsible for this,” he said.

“The importation policy of the admission of agricultural staple foods like rice and maize, and the exorbitant high cost of fertilizer, have made things worse.”

Bello noted that most northern farmers now struggle to stay afloat as the cost of production far outweighs the selling price of their produce.

“The prices of the produce do not justify the production cost on the farmers, majority of whom are northerners,” he said.

“This, coupled with the adverse effect of insecurity that has ravaged the North with no respite in sight, has worsened the economic state of affairs in the region.”

World Bank report: Northern Nigeria worse hit by bad economy, poverty – Shehu, Bello, others