Business

75.5 per cent rural Nigerians living below poverty line – World Bank

Published

1 year ago

May 5, 2025

World bank

About 75.5 per cent of rural Nigerians are now living below the poverty line, reflecting deepening hardship in the country’s hinterlands, the World Bank, has disclosed.

The disclosure was made in the Bank’s April 2025 Poverty and Equity Brief for Nigeria that paints a grim picture of worsening economic hardship, widening inequality, and persistent underdevelopment across much of the nation.

The report stressed that the situation is significantly worse in rural areas, where economic stagnation, high inflation, and insecurity have exacerbated living conditions, while poverty is widespread among urban populations.

According to the report, “Based on the most recent official household survey data from Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics, 30.9 per cent of Nigerians lived below the international extreme poverty line of $2.15 per person per day in 2018/19 before the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The report also explained that Nigeria’s enduring regional disparities remained spatially unequal, saying that the poverty rate in northern geopolitical zones was 46.5 per cent in 2018/19, compared with 13.5 per cent for southern ones. Inequality measured by the Gini index was estimated at 35.1 in 2018/19.

Nigeria’s Prosperity Gap — the average factor by which individuals’ incomes must be multiplied to attain a prosperity standard of $25 per day for all — is estimated at 10.2, higher than most peers, despite successive policy interventions, the figures underscore a persistent economic divide across the country.

Children aged 0 to 14 years had a poverty rate of 72.5 per cent, reflecting the scale of deprivation among the youngest segment of the population, as a result of the report’s demographic analysis.

With Nigerians lacking formal education experiencing a poverty rate of 79.5 per cent, it emerges as a significant determinant of poverty, it contrasts with 61.9 per cent for those with primary education and 50.0 per cent for secondary school graduates and only 25.4 per cent of those with tertiary education were considered poor.

The report also drew attention to multidimensional poverty indicators, which further reflect widespread deprivation, stressing that about 30.9 per cent of Nigerians live on less than $2.15 daily, 32.6 per cent lack access to limited-standard drinking water, 45.1 per cent do not have limited-standard sanitation, and 39.4 per cent have no electricity.

The report stated that 17.6 per cent of adults yet to complete primary education, and 9.0 per cent of households reporting at least one school-aged child not enrolled in school as education access remains a challenge.

The report noted that even before the COVID-19 pandemic, efforts to reduce extreme poverty had largely stalled, saying that before COVID-19, extreme poverty reduction had almost stagnated, dropping by only half a percentage point annually since 2010.

Living standards of the urban poor are hardly improving, and jobs that would allow households to escape poverty are lacking.

Although the World Bank acknowledged recent economic reforms aimed at stabilising Nigeria’s macroeconomic outlook, it warned that persistently high inflation continues to undermine household purchasing power, particularly in urban areas where incomes have not kept pace with rising costs.

The Bank called for urgent policy action to shield vulnerable groups from inflationary shocks and to drive job creation through more productive economic activities in light of the worsening situation.

Up Next

Cabals still fighting our refinery – Dangote

Don't Miss

Naira records highest depreciation against dollar at official market

Click to comment

Business

Fuel may hit N2000/litre. Subsidize crude feedstock now – TUC tells FG

Published

1 month ago

April 10, 2026

Ekwutos Blog

The Trade Union of Nigeria, TUC, has raised the alarm that the price of Premium Motor Spirit aka Petrol may climb to about N2,000 per litre if urgent measures are not taken to cushion the impact of rising global crude prices and the depreciating naira.

Speaking to newsmen on Thursday, April 9, the president of the TUC, Festus Osifo, called on the Federal Government to immediately deploy 60 percent of excess crude oil revenue above the 2026 budget benchmark to subsidise crude feedstock supplies to the Dangote Refinery and other modular refineries, a move it says will slash pump prices of petrol, diesel, and jet fuel within two weeks

“Today, comrades, we are seeing that the cost of petrol is edging towards N2,000 per litre depending on the part of the country that you are. Nigerian workers are already passing through excruciating pain as we speak.

The same way it is affecting transportation, it is also affecting manufacturing. The cost of diesel has also gone northward, meaning that the cost of production has increased. When production costs rise, the final price of goods on the shelves will also skyrocket.

If this continues unchecked, the inflation that we are currently celebrating as going downwards will reverse and start moving up again,” he stated.

Osifo outlined the proposal as an urgent intervention to cushion Nigerian workers from excruciating pain caused by petrol prices edging towards ₦2,000 per litre in some parts of the country

Business

Fuel price hike: Gov Makinde announces N10,000 transport support for workers

Published

2 months ago

March 23, 2026

Ekwutos Blog

The governor of Oyo state, Seyi Makinde, has approved a N10,000 transportation allowance as a palliative for the state workforce to cushion the effects of the increase in the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit, otherwise known as petrol.

The Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Oyo State chapter, Kayode Martins, in a statement released on Monday, March 23, disclosed that the governor has granted the request of the union on the issue of transportation allowance.

The statement read

“Following the intervention and formal request made by the State Council of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) earlier this morning, the state government has approved a N10,000 transportation allowance for all workers in the state.

The newly approved allowance is set to take effect from April 2026, providing much-needed relief to workers grappling with rising transportation costs amid current economic challenges.

This development comes as a direct response to sustained advocacy by the state NLC, aimed at cushioning the impact of increased living expenses on the workforce.

Further details on implementation are expected to be communicated by the relevant government authorities in due course.”

Business

CBN Releases New Age Limit, Guidelines On BVN Operation.

Published

2 months ago

March 13, 2026

Ekwutos Blog

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has declared that banks and financial institutions must establish and maintain a temporary watch-list for Bank Verification Numbers (BVN) implicated in suspected fraudulent transactions.

According to the CBN in a circular dated March 12, 2026 and signed by its Director of Payments System Policy Department, Musa I. Jimoh, the apex bank said such a suspected BVN may remain on the temporary watchlist for a maximum period of twenty-four (24) hours during which the owner would be contacted to make clarifications.

The circular explained that the move is part of several new measures under a revised regulatory framework aimed at enhancing financial system stability.

“A BVN may remain on this temporary Watchlist for a maximum period of twenty-four (24) hours, during this period, the BVN owner shall be contacted to provide clarification regarding the identified transaction(s),” the circular stated.

The circular also sets an age requirement for BVN enrolment, restricting registration to individuals who have attained eighteen (18) years and above.

The CBN also added that amendments to phone numbers linked to a BVN shall be allowed only once.

“Amendments to phone numbers linked to a BVN shall be allowed only once,” the circular noted.

The apex bank stated that access to BVN databases will remain tightly controlled.

“Access to the BVN databases shall be exclusively granted to Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) licensed financial institutions.

“Notwithstanding this provision, the Central Bank of Nigeria (the Bank) reserves the right to approve access to the BVN databases in extenuating circumstances and in accordance with the provisions of extant laws,” the circular said.

Financial institutions are expected to comply with the new requirements, and customers may be contacted by their banks if their BVNs are temporarily flagged during the new fraud monitoring process.

The new policy, as stated by the CBN, takes effect from May 1, 2026.