World Bank report reveals government’s economic failure —ADC

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) accused the APC-led federal government of exacerbating poverty and economic hardship across Nigeria, and asserted that the World Bank’s latest report, which revealed that 139 million Nigerians now live below the poverty line, was an undeniable indictment of the government’s failures.

In a strongly worded statement issued on Thursday by National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC said the report revealed a widening gap between “the government’s propaganda of progress and the grim reality faced daily by ordinary citizens.”

The World Bank’s October 2025 Poverty Assessment Report, released on Wednesday, shows that the number of Nigerians living below the poverty line has jumped from 81 million in 2019 to 139 million, representing 61 percent of the population.

Although the Presidency was quick to reject the findings – and described them as “unrealistic and does not reflect Nigeria’s economic situation” – the ADC hit back by saying that the government was deliberately distorting the statistics to cover up its failures.

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But Abdullahi rejected the argument as disingenuous, saying: “The African Democratic Congress has studied the World Bank Report of October 2025, which stated that 139 million Nigerians now live below the poverty line, up from 81 million in 2019. This figure, representing 61 percent of the population, is clear evidence that the economic policies of the Tinubu-led APC government have actually pushed more Nigerians into poverty, this contrary to government performance propaganda and claims of progress.”

He added that “World Bank figures tell a simple but painful story: under the APC government and President Bola Tinubu, more Nigerians have fallen into poverty than at any previous time in our history. In 2019, four in 10 Nigerians were in poverty. Today, it is at least six in 10 Nigerians.”

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Abdullahi criticized President Tinubu’s Independence Day speech, describing it as “a deliberate cover-up to hide the grim reality of human suffering in history.”

“Behind President Tinubu’s shining statistics are countless families skipping meals, children out of school, and households selling assets just to buy food and basic medicines to survive,” he said. “Under the APC, nearly 30 million Nigerians have now joined the ranks of the ultra-poor – those who, even though they spend every naira they earn on food, are still unable to get enough calories to survive.”

An ADC spokesperson said worsening poverty levels show that the challenges facing Nigeria require more than superficial economic reform, and stressed that the government must “put people first, not propaganda.”

“While the government celebrates record revenue collections and the illusion of economic stability, World Bank data shows that Nigerians are actually getting poorer by the day,” Abdullahi continued. “Food inflation has reached its peak, with the price of a bag of rice doubling fivefold in just four years. Poor families now spend about 70 percent of their income on food, leaving nothing for rent, school fees or medicine.”

He further pointed out that the social safety net in Nigeria has collapsed, and noted that its coverage has declined from 20 percent in 2019 to just six percent in 2025, while government spending on the poorest accounts for only 0.14 percent of GDP, far below the global average of 1.5 percent.

“What all this means is that Nigerians are in a worse state under the APC government and President Bola Tinubu. And contrary to the President’s claims, the worst is not over; on the contrary, it appears the worst is yet to come,” Abdullahi warned. “Instead of continuing to defend propaganda, the government should accept the impartial decision of its partner, the World Bank, and try to make improvements before it is too late.”

ADC also accused the government of manipulating Nigeria’s poverty threshold to downplay the scale of existing hardship.

“Nigeria’s domestic poverty line, pegged at about N137,000 per month—or about $90—is far below the true global benchmark. By using a locally derived measure, the government is effectively undercounting millions of poor Nigerians,” the statement read.

In closing, the ADC urged the Tinubu administration to shift focus from “bragging about increasing incomes” to “prioritizing food security, job creation and social protection for the 139 million Nigerians affected by poor economic policies.”

“The time for denial is over,” Abdullahi said. “The public is starving, and statistical manipulation can no longer hide the truth.”