World Bank Report: Shehu, Bello, Others Say Northern Nigeria Worst Hit by Poverty, Economic Crisis

Despite recent efforts to stabilize the economy, the World Bank said Wednesday that over 139 million Nigerians are currently living below the poverty line, expressing grave concern over the country’s rising poverty rate.

The Bank cautioned that if the country’s continuing changes don’t actually enhance the lives of regular Nigerians, the gains made could be lost.

At the October 2025 Nigeria Development Update event, “From Policy to People: Bringing the Reform Gains Home,” in Abuja on Wednesday, World Bank Country Director for Nigeria Mathew Verghis made the revelation.

Responses to the report’s findings have been coming from a variety of sources, including opposition parties, civil society, and the Nigerian government itself.

The Presidency has vehemently contested the World Bank’s findings, calling them unrealistic and unrelated to the country’s actual economic circumstances, despite the fact that many Nigerians believe the report reflects the harsh reality of everyday living.

The administration argued that the poverty numbers need to be appropriately contextualized within the framework of global poverty measurement methodologies in a statement released Thursday through Sunday Dare, President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Media and Public Communications.

“The cited amount needs to be appropriately contextualized, even while Nigeria values its collaboration with the World Bank and its contributions to policy analysis. On his official X account, Dare said, “It is not realistic.”

According to the Presidency, the worldwide poverty limit of $2.15 per person per day, established in 2017 using the Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) methodology, was the basis for the 139 million poverty estimate.

The government claims that this is not a precise representation of the number of Nigerians living in poverty.

It further claimed that the global poverty line of $2.15 per day, when adjusted to local currency, is an analytical construct rather than a real-time reflection of economic realities because it is equivalent to roughly ₦100,000 per month, which is higher than Nigeria’s new minimum wage of ₦70,000.

“The administration of President Tinubu is dedicated to lowering the prevalence of poverty. The presidency has declared, “Nigeria rejects exaggerated statistical interpretations detached from local realities.”

In a statement released on Thursday, the African Democratic Congress (ADC), which disagrees with the government’s stance, encouraged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to embrace the recent World Bank study that revealed a dramatic increase in poverty in Nigeria.

ADC claims it is unmistakable evidence that the economic policies of his government have made millions of people’s lives worse.

Mahdi Shehu claims that the North has been degraded to the status of slaves.

Mahdi Shehu, a civil rights activist, said the new World Bank study reflected the terrible reality that people have been facing for years.

Shehu stated in an exclusive interview on Thursday that people who are aware of the struggles Nigerians have faced, particularly since 2015, are not surprised by the findings.

“Those who understand what Nigerians have been going through, especially from 2015 to date, are not surprised by the World Bank’s claim yesterday that 139 million Nigerians are suffering from acute hunger,” he stated.

Shehu went on to say that the hunger statistic barely scratches the surface of the larger tragedy that is taking place in the nation.

According to him, “you will understand the bigger picture of the current despair, despondency, decay, and hopelessness in Nigeria if you add this figure to the over 30 million out-of-school children, the over 600 children who die every day from acute malnutrition, and the growing unemployment rate.”

He claims that Nigeria has devolved into a society where everyone is out for themselves, God is for everyone, survival of the fittest rules, and the devil takes the back seat.

The activist attributed the growing poverty, particularly in the country’s north, to years of inept leadership and misguided goals.

According to him, the North has suffered the most from social disintegration and economic evictions.

Shehu said, “The northern region of Nigeria has been the hardest hit in terms of economic dispossession, with over 80 percent of the population forced into permanent, irreversible economic bondage.”

He claimed that as a result of this condition, there are now more fatalities from avoidable diseases, broken homes, starvation, hopelessness, and a total disintegration of ethics and morals.

Shehu went on to say that democracy has only caused suffering and suffering for the people in the area.

Democracy is meaningless to the people of northern Nigeria. They have been wiped out, their unity, trade, and commerce destroyed, their well-being wrecked, and they have been lowered to the level of slaves in a nation where they are supposed to be citizens because of this system,” he stated.

“The situation has left ordinary Nigerians feeling abandoned and betrayed,” he said, criticizing political elites for ignoring the poor while enriching themselves.

“While the people suffer in silence, the leaders enjoy luxury and comfort.” “What we currently have is not democracy; rather, it is an oppressive system that is fueled by deceit, fear, and hunger,” he said.

Bello: “It is unfair to the poor to reject the report.”

In an exclusive interview on Thursday, Hon. Jafar Sani Bello, a politician and public affairs analyst, stated that it would be unfair and insulting to the millions of impoverished Nigerians who are directly impacted by the nation’s economic struggles to disregard the most recent poverty report issued by a respectable international organization.

He claims that despite its unsightliness and distasteful nature, the article accurately depicts the terrible reality that many Nigerians, particularly those in the northern region, must deal with.

Despite its unpleasant appearance, Bello stated, “it’s a report from a reputable organization, and we have to accept it and look for ways and means to bring succor to those captured in the web.”

“It would be a serious injustice and insult to those impacted to dismiss the report.”

He clarified that a number of economic and security issues have caused poverty to be most severe in the northern region.

“I think the North is negatively impacted, and there are many reasons for this,” he stated.

“The situation has gotten worse due to the importation policy that allows agricultural staples like rice and maize to be admitted and the extremely high cost of fertilizer.”

According to Bello, the majority of farmers in the north today find it difficult to make ends meet because the cost of production greatly exceeds the price at which their produce is sold.

“The majority of the farmers are from the north, and the prices of the produce do not justify the cost of production,” he stated.

“This has exacerbated the economic situation in the region, especially when combined with the negative impact of insecurity that has wreaked havoc on the North with no end in sight.”