7.1 million Nigerians will become poor, if…says World Bank

…..as Poor Nigerians hit 93.8 million

..…4 million became poor between January – May

The Bank gave the warning during the launch of the June 2023 edition of the Nigeria Development Update on Tuesday in Abuja.

According to the Bank data, 89.8 million Nigerian were poor as of the beginning of this year. The lender noted that additional four million Nigerians became poor between January and May this year, raising the figure to 93.8million.

The Washington-based lender also said about 7.1 million poor Nigerians would become poor if the Federal Government failed to compensate or provide palliatives for them, following the removal of fuel subsidy.

Latest projection means the number of poor Nigerians will rise to 100.9 million if the government fails to compensate vulnerable citizens for fuel subsidy removal.

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The report read, “In the immediate term, the removal of the petrol subsidy has caused an increase in prices, adversely affect ting poor and economically insecure Nigerian households. Petrol prices appear to have almost tripled following the subsidy removal.

“The poor and economically insecure households, who directly purchase and use petrol as well as those that indirectly consume petrol, are adversely affected by the price increase. Among the poor and economically insecure, 38 percent own a motorcycle and 23 percent own a generator that depends on petrol. Many more use petrol dependent transportation.

“The poor and economically insecure households will face an equivalent income loss of N5,700 per month, and without compensation, an additional 7.1 million people will be pushed into poverty.

The World Bank warned that many newly poor and economically insecure households will likely resort to consequential coping mechanisms, such as “not sending children to school, or not going to the health facilities to seek preventative healthcare or cutting back on nutritious dietary choices.”

The bank stressed the need for adequate compensation, noting that compensating transfers will be essential in helping to shield Nigerian households from the initial price impacts of the subsidy reform.

However, The lending institution applauded ,the Nigerian government for the removal of the subsidy and FX management reforms, which it said are crucial measures to begin to rebuild fiscal space and restore macroeconomic stability.