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20m More Nigerians Will Be Poor By 2022 -World Bank
The World Bank dropped a bombshell, yesterday, reporting that an additional 20 million Nigerians are likely to join the ranks of the poor in 2022, with the absence of measures to mitigate the twin impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and the drop in crude oil prices.
The global bank added that the pandemic was disproportionately affecting the poor and most vulnerable, particularly women, and called for pragmatic measures to stem the tide.
The World Bank, in its Nigeria Development Update (NDU), noted that food insecurity has increased substantially, adding that economic precariousness was on the rise because unemployed workers have migrated to the low-productivity agricultural sector.
According to the bank, an average Nigerian will in the next three years see a reversal of decades of economic growth and the country could enter its deepest recession since the 1980s.
The report argues that this path could be avoided if progress in the current reforms was sustained and the right mix of policy measures quickly implemented
While acknowledging measures taken by the government since April, including the efforts to harmonise exchange rates, introduce a market-based pricing mechanism for gasoline, adjust electricity tariffs to more cost-reflective levels, and reduce non-essential expenditures and redirect resources towards the Covid-19 response, it said there is need for a greater policy response to the economic crisis.
It also highlights the greater transparency in the oil and gas sector and public debt as essential steps for a resilient recovery.
The World Bank’s Lead Economist for Nigeria and co-author of the report, Marco Hernandez, said: ‘Nigeria can build on its reform momentum to contain the spread of Covid-19, stimulate the economy, and enable the private sector to be the engine of growth and job creation.
‘It can also redirect public spending from subsidies that benefit the rich towards investments in Nigeria’s people and youth in particular, and lay foundations for a strong recovery to help make progress towards lifting 100 million people out of poverty.’
The report titled, “Rising to the Challenge: Nigeria’s Covid-19 response”, takes stock on the recently implemented reforms and proposes policy options to mitigate the impact of Covid-19 and foster a resilient, sustainable, and inclusive recovery.
The World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Shubham Chaudhuri, while speaking on the report, said Nigeria is at a critical historical juncture, with a choice to make.
He added that “Nigeria can choose to break decisively from business-as-usual, and rise to its considerable potential by sustaining the bold reforms that have been taken thus far and going even further and with an even greater sense of urgency to promote faster and more inclusive economic growth.”
The latest World Bank NDU projects that the economy could shrink up to four per cent in 2020 following the twin shocks of Covid-19 and low oil prices.
It said the pace of recovery in 2021 and beyond remains highly uncertain and subject to the pace of reforms.
Looking ahead, the Bank, in the report, discusses policy options in five areas that would help mitigate the effects of the crisis and support Nigeria’s recovery.
The areas are managing the domestic spread of Covid-19 until a vaccine is available for distribution; enhancing macroeconomic management to boost investor confidence; safeguarding and mobilizing revenues; reprioritizing public spending to protect critical development expenditures, and supporting economic activity and access to basic services and providing relief for poor and vulnerable communities.
However, Nigeria’s $1.5billion facility would be placed before the World Bank Board for approval, next week, the Country Director (CD) for Nigeria, Mr. Shubham Chaudhuri, revealed, yesterday.
He said during a webinar on the latest Nigeria Development Update (NDU) that the facility was prepared to assist states in the tackling Covid-19 and to address governance issues.
According to the CD, Nigeria was on a fiscal cliff requiring courageous and urgent policy measures by the leaders to avoid the nation from falling so badly as to equal the 1980s’ experience, by 2022.
The World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Said Chaudhuri, “Nigeria is at a critical historical juncture, with a choice to make.
“Nigeria can choose to break decisively from business-as-usual, and rise to its considerable potential by sustaining the bold reforms that have been taken thus far and going even further and with an even greater sense of urgency to promote faster and more inclusive economic growth.”
The Nigeria Immigration Service has officially ended passport production at multiple centres, transitioning to a single, centralised system for the first time in 62 years.
Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, disclosed this yesterday while inspecting Nigeria’s new Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre at the NIS Headquarters in Abuja.
He stated that since the establishment of NIS in 1963, Nigeria had never operated a central passport production centre, until now, marking a major reform milestone.
“The project is 100 per cent ready. Nigeria can now be more productive and efficient in delivering passport services,” Tunji-Ojo said.
He explained that old machines could only produce 250 to 300 passports daily, but the new system had a capacity of 4,500 to 5,000 passports every day.
“With this, NIS can now meet daily demands within just four to five hours of operation,” he added, describing it as a game-changer for passport processing in Nigeria.
“We promised two-week delivery, and we’re now pushing for one week.
“Automation and optimisation are crucial for keeping this promise to Nigerians,” the minister said.
He noted that centralisation, in line with global standards, would improve uniformity and enhance the overall integrity of Nigerian travel documents worldwide.
Tunji-Ojo described the development as a step toward bringing services closer to Nigerians while driving a culture of efficiency and total passport system reform.
He said the centralised production system aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda, boosting NIS capacity and changing the narrative for better service delivery.
The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) has disbursed N2.225 trillion as federation revenue for the month of August 2025, the highest ever allocation to the three tiers of government and other statutory recipients.
This marks the second consecutive month that FAAC disbursements have crossed the N2 trillion mark.
The revenue, shared at the August 2025 FAAC meeting in Abuja, was buoyed by increases in oil and gas royalty, value-added tax (VAT), and common external tariff (CET) levies, according to a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting.
Out of the N2.225 trillion total distributable revenue, FAAC said N1,478.593 trillion came from statutory revenue, N672.903 billion from VAT, N32.338 billion from the Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL), and N41.284 billion from Exchange Difference.
The communiqué revealed that gross federation revenue for the month stood at N3.635 trillion. From this amount, N124.839 billion was deducted as cost of collection, while N1,285.845 trillion was set aside for transfers, interventions, refunds, and savings.
From the statutory revenue of N1.478 trillion, the Federal Government received N684.462 billion, State Governments received N347.168 billion, and Local Government Councils received N267.652 billion. A further N179.311 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) went to oil-producing states as derivation revenue.
From the distributable VAT revenue of N672.903 billion, the Federal Government received N100.935 billion, the states received N336.452 billion, while the local governments got N235.516 billion.
Of the N32.338 billion shared from EMTL, the Federal Government received N4.851 billion, the States received N16.169 billion, and the Local Governments received N11.318 billion.
From the N41.284 billion exchange difference, the Federal Government received N19.799 billion, the states received N10.042 billion, and the local governments received N7.742 billion, while N3.701 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) was shared to the oil-producing states as derivation.
The Governing Council of Kenule Beeson Saro-Wiwa Polytechnic, Bori, has decried the inadequate power supply and poor state of infrastructural facilities and equipment at the institution.
The Council also appealed to the government, including Non-Governmental Organisations, agencies, as well as well-meaning Rivers people to intervene to restore and sustain the laudable gesture, dreams and aspirations of the founding fathers of the polytechnic.
The Chairman of the newly inaugurated Council, Professor Friday B. Sigalo, made this appeal during a tour of facilities at the Polytechnic, recently.
Accompanied by members of the team, Prof Sigalo emphasised the position of technology, technical and vocational education in sustainable development.
He noted that with the prospects on ground, and the programmes and activities undertaken in the polytechnic, there is no doubt that the institution would add values to the educational system in our society and foster the desired development, if the existing challenges are jointly tackled.
This was contained in a statement signed by Deputy Registrar, Public Relations, Kenpoly, Innocent Ogbonda-Nwanwu, and made available to The Tide in Port Harcourt.
The chairman who restated the intention of his team of technocrats to ensure that KenPoly enjoys desirable face-lift, said the Council would deliver on its core mandates, accordingly.
Earlier, the Rector, KenPoly Engr. Dr. Ledum S. Gwarah, commended the appointment of Professor Friday B. Sigalo as Chairman of the KenPoly Governing Council.
He described him and his team as seasoned technocrats and expressed confidence in their ability to succeed.
The Rector pledged the management’s support to the Council to ensure that KenPoly resumes its rightful place in the comity of polytechnics in the country.
Facilities visited by the Governing Council include KenPoly workshops, laboratories, skills acquisition centre, library, hostels and medical centre.
Chinedu Wosu
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