The Director of Public Sector Initiative at Lagos Business School, Franklin Ngwu, has warned that poverty levels in Nigeria could rise to about 140 million people by 2026, despite ongoing economic reforms under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
Ngwu made the assertion on Monday during an interview on Prime Time, a programme on Arise Television, where he assessed the impact of recent reforms, particularly the floating of the foreign exchange market and the removal of fuel subsidies.
While acknowledging that economic reforms were necessary, Ngwu said the manner of implementation has worsened key social indicators. He noted that unemployment and poverty levels are rising, while public debt continues to increase.
“If we look at key economic indicators—unemployment, poverty and debt—unemployment is rising, poverty is increasing, and debt is also going up,” he said.
Ngwu added that although some indicators show improvement, such as increased government revenue and a rebasing of inflation figures projected at about 15 per cent, these gains have not translated into improved living conditions for most Nigerians.
According to him, the true measure of the reforms should be how ordinary Nigerians perceive and feel their impact, particularly in terms of employment opportunities and poverty reduction.
He cited a United Nations report which projected that about 30 million Nigerians could fall into poverty this year alone, pushing the total number of poor people in the country to nearly 140 million by 2026.
Ngwu stressed that without deliberate policies to address unemployment and cushion the social impact of reforms, public confidence in the economic adjustment programme would continue to erode.
