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N20,000 monthly transfers can cut poverty, says W’Bank

Published

9 months ago

November 16, 2025

The World Bank has said Nigeria could lift up to 13.9 million people out of poverty if it implements a structured N20,000 monthly cash-transfer system targeted at poor households, warning that the country’s current safety-net programmes are too weak and underfunded to deliver meaningful relief.

The Bretton Woods institution delivered the verdict in a new report titled “The State of Social Safety Nets in Nigeria,” obtained by our correspondent on Friday. It urged an increase from the current disbursement of N5,000.

It said Nigeria’s social safety-net programmes are too poorly funded, weakly targeted, and inefficiently executed to deliver meaningful relief to the more than 100 million citizens living in extreme poverty. This comes after the bank revealed that only 44 per cent of total benefits from government-funded safety-net schemes actually reach poor Nigerians.

In its latest assessment, the bank noted that existing interventions “remain too small, too fragmented and too inefficient to move the needle on poverty,” despite the scale of economic hardship confronting millions of citizens.

“At their present scale and design, social protection programmes are simply not adequate to cushion vulnerable families or reverse the rising poverty trend,” the report stated.

It stressed that the combination of high inflation, shrinking household purchasing power, and limited beneficiary reach has weakened the impact of federal welfare spending.

According to the report, simulations show that expanding transfers to N20,000 per month, backed by stronger targeting and increased funding, “could dramatically reduce both the poverty headcount and the depth of deprivation among Nigeria’s poorest households.”

It added that with the right level of investment and a cleaner delivery system, “Nigeria has the potential to lift 13.9 million people out of poverty, more than double what current programmes can achieve.”

According to the World Bank, simulations using Nigeria Living Standards Survey data show that safety nets could significantly reduce poverty and inequality if spending is increased and benefits reach their intended targets.

The bank examined spending scenarios ranging from N500bn to N2.4tn annually, with benefit levels of N5,000 to N20,000 per household per month. The results were striking. Under a clean, perfectly targeted system with zero leakage, N500bn, roughly Nigeria’s current allocation, could lift 3.3 million people out of poverty and cover nearly 70 per cent of the poor.

With N1.8tn (0.9 per cent of GDP), about 10.6 million Nigerians could be lifted out of poverty, while spending N2.4tn (1.2 per cent of GDP, the LMIC average) could lift 13.9 million people above the poverty line.

The report read, “While the impact of the safety net expenditure in Nigeria is negligible, the low impacts are driven by low and inadequate coverage and inefficient spending. Simulations using the NLSS 2018/19 data show that safety nets can have large impacts on poverty and inequality (measured by the depth of poverty) with larger overall expenditures and with efficient spending going directly to the poor.

“The simulations examine scenarios where the overall expenditures vary from N500bn, a very low scenario comparable to the current allocation, to N2.4tn, an ambitious scenario for Nigeria but one of average expenditures (relative to GDP) in other lower-middle-income countries. The simulations vary in benefit size per household from N5,000 to N20,000 per month. The simulations assume that the budget is spent exclusively on poor people, that is, without any targeting errors, leakage, or administrative and operational costs.

“The coverage is then determined by the data based on the budget and benefit size. Poverty impacts can be very significant even under the relatively low expenditures scenario, when spent efficiently. The simulations show that spending N500bn (about 0.2 per cent of GDP) on the poor, without any inefficiency or leakage, can lift 1.6 per cent (3.3 million people) out of poverty and cover close to 70 per cent of the poor. With higher levels of expenditure on the poor, especially expenditures exceeding N1.8tn (0.9 per cent of GDP), 5 per cent (or 10.6 million people) can be lifted out of poverty. With the lower-middle-income country average expenditures of 1.2 per cent of GDP (N2.4tn) on the poor, Nigeria can lift 13.9 million people out of poverty.”

The bank urged the Federal Government to treat safety-net spending as an investment rather than a temporary palliative. “Scaling up cash transfers, particularly towards the N20,000 benchmark, represents one of the most efficient paths to reducing poverty in Nigeria,” it said, adding that wider coverage, not just higher benefit levels, would ensure more equitable relief for the millions living just below the poverty line.

It noted that while several interventions exist on paper, the impact of Nigeria’s welfare spending “remains negligible,” largely because too few poor households are covered and too much of the current funding leaks to non-poor beneficiaries. The bank urged Nigeria to prioritise wider coverage instead of concentrating large benefits on fewer households.

Its analysis shows that spreading N1tn across all poor households, even with smaller benefits, would lift about six million people out of poverty, compared to 5.8 million if the same amount were spent as N20,000 monthly transfers targeted at only one-third of poor households.

The broader coverage also reduces the depth of poverty more effectively, particularly for the millions of citizens just below the poverty line, who need only minimal support to cross it. The World Bank found that the poorest households, those far below the poverty line, remain untouched even by higher transfer amounts.

Under a perfect targeting system, N1tn spent on the poorest third would reduce poverty severity by 1.5 percentage points, nearly double the impact of randomly distributed transfers, but would have almost zero effect on headcount poverty because the poorest are too deep in deprivation to be lifted out with modest transfers.

Earlier, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, announced that the Federal Government plans to deliver digital cash transfers to 15 million households, estimated at 70 million Nigerians. He said 8.5 million households had already received at least one round of the N25,000 grant, with payments to the remaining 6.5 million expected before the end of the year.

Edun described the intervention as a cornerstone of the government’s strategy to cushion the impact of inflation and subsidy removal, but the World Bank report suggests the programme’s short duration and funding limits may not deliver long-term poverty reduction.

The World Bank concluded that Nigeria’s current safety-net architecture is incapable of driving the government’s poverty-eradication ambition unless urgent reforms are made.

It recommended three immediate steps, “Increase overall spending on safety nets, treating them as investments, not handouts, Expand coverage to reach more of the 100 million extremely poor Nigerians, Improve targeting and raise benefit levels to ensure transfers make a measurable impact.

“Nigeria’s safety nets, at their current funding level and implementation pattern, are too small, too narrow, and too diluted to meaningfully reduce extreme poverty,” the report declared.

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Business

Customs dismiss smuggling, revenue leakage allegations

Published

14 hours ago

August 13, 2026

Newsbreak365_Admin

The Nigeria Customs Service has dismissed allegations of increased smuggling, revenue leakage, recruitment impropriety and manipulation of succession within the service, describing them as a misrepresentation of its operations and administrative processes.

The service’s National Public Relations Officer, Deputy Comptroller Abdullahi Maiwada, stated this in a response released on Thursday to an investigative report published by a media outlet (not PUNCH) on August 7, 2026.

The report had alleged intensified smuggling along the Seme, Idiroko, Ilaro, Ipokia and Igbeti-Kishi corridors, as well as manipulation of the 846 valuation code at the Apapa, Tin Can Island and PTML Area Commands.

Maiwada said the claim of a surge in smuggling was inconsistent with the service’s enforcement activities, pointing to regular seizures recorded along the affected corridors.

“Our responsibility is to reduce smuggling to the barest minimum, not to claim that it can be completely eradicated,” he said.

On the 846 valuation code, the NCS explained that it was a digital tool designed for vehicles with non-standard or non-compliant Vehicle Identification Numbers, including specialised heavy equipment, classic vehicles and customised models.

“The 846 code is an established digital valuation code within the Customs portal, specifically designated for vehicles with non-standard or non-compliant Vehicle Identification Numbers,” Maiwada said.

He added that standard vehicles were assessed automatically through manufacturer-linked databases, while 846 applications were subjected to secondary approval by valuation officers and Area Controllers.

Maiwada said discrepancies discovered through post-clearance audits could lead to Demand Notices for the recovery of short-collected duties and sanctions against offending operators, adding that revenue collections at major ports had reached historic levels under the digital framework.

On the recruitment of Assistant Superintendents of Customs II, the Service said the exercise was conducted under the authorisation of the Nigeria Customs Service Board and in line with the NCS Act 2023 and Federal Character Commission guidelines.

It said successful candidates were issued provisional offers subject to medical verification, background checks and formal acceptance.

The Service also rejected allegations of succession manipulation and favouritism among officers, saying promotions were determined by seniority, merit, promotion examinations and available vacancies in accordance with established regulations.

“Succession and promotion within the Service are governed by established rules and career progression structures, not personal preference,” the Service said.

Maiwada said leadership training for Deputy Comptrollers was part of the Service’s human capital development strategy, aimed at strengthening trade operations, intelligence management and executive leadership.

He explained that approved training programmes and international exposures were funded through budgetary allocations or formal technical assistance arrangements with partner institutions.

Responding to calls for independent investigations, the NCS said it remained subject to oversight by the Federal Ministry of Finance, National Assembly, Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation and anti-corruption agencies.

“The management maintains a firm, intolerant posture toward corruption, revenue leakage or administrative misconduct,” the Service stated.

It added that any officer or stakeholder found culpable would face disciplinary action and prosecution in accordance with the law, while assuring Nigerians that the Service would cooperate with any legitimate investigation by statutory authorities.

Source: punchng.com

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Business

Patience Jonathan revealed she mentored Azikel refinery boss Eruani from ‘small boy’ to big businessman

Published

14 hours ago

August 13, 2026

Newsbreak365_Admin

Ex-President Goodluck Jonathan’s wife, Patience, has described the Group President of Azikel Group, Dr Azibapu Eruani, as a “small boy” she raised and mentored into the league of Nigeria’s biggest businessmen.

She said her guidance was behind his bold entry into big business at a relatively young age.

The former First Lady spoke on Tuesday in a video which went viral on Thursday during an inspection tour of the Azikel Refinery in Obunagha, Bayelsa State, alongside other dignitaries.

She said she personally introduced Eruani to billionaire businessmen, Aliko Dangote and Aminu Dantata, and pushed him to aspire to their level despite being the youngest among them.

“He’s a boy that I brought up. We are always together. Although he’s the little one among us when we are friends — Dangote, Seyi, Dantata, Eruani — among us, he’s the smallest. But I made sure he followed the Dangotes, he followed Dantata.

“Because I’m a woman in their midst, I made sure I told this small boy, ‘Go and follow them, and stop the grammar.’ But when he told me that one day he would be like Dangote, I said, ‘You’re thinking too high.’ I prayed to God to grant him his heart’s desire,” she said.

Group President of Azikel Group, Dr Azibapu Eruani

The former First Lady also recalled how the immediate past APC administration under Muhammadu Buhari initially failed to grant Eruani a refinery licence before eventually approving three.

“During the Buhari administration, he and others came to me and told me they were going to apply for a refinery. I told him, ‘Eruani, your brother, the President, did not give you a refinery.

“Is it the APC government that will give you one?’ I prayed it would happen. But later, they came back and told me they had been given three refineries,” she said.

The inspection coincided with the arrival of the refinery’s Crude Distillation Unit, a major milestone in the development of the $1bn facility.

The 25,000 barrels-per-day plant is a private hydro-skimming refinery designed to process condensate into petrol, diesel, aviation fuel, kerosene and other products.

It is set to become Nigeria’s second-largest full-slate refinery and the first major privately owned refinery in the Niger Delta.

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Niger Delta Development Commission, Samuel Ogbuku, who joined the inspection tour, commended Eruani for his perseverance, noting that he had attended the project’s groundbreaking ceremony eight years ago.

Ogbuku described the refinery as an inspiration and a potential catalyst for investment, job creation and economic growth in Bayelsa State, and urged residents, particularly youths, to key into the opportunities it would create.

He also praised the Bayelsa State Government for improving road infrastructure leading to the refinery site and called for continued support for the project.

Governor Douye Diri, who was represented at the inspection by his deputy, Peter Akpe, has consistently backed the project, which is expected to employ hundreds of workers and drive industrialisation in the state.

Other dignitaries at the event included the Chairman of the Bayelsa State Council of Traditional Rulers, King Bubaraye Dakolo; Vice President of Azikel Group, Presley Asemota; and Isaac Yalah, among others.

Source: punchng.com

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Business

Aiyedatiwa signs new Ondo electricity power sector law

Published

14 hours ago

August 13, 2026

Newsbreak365_Admin

Ondo State Governor, Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa, has assented to the Ondo State Electric Power Sector (Amendment) Law, 2026, establishing a stronger legal and regulatory framework for electricity generation, transmission and distribution across the state.

The new law establishes the State Electricity Regulatory Commission, which will oversee tariffs, licences, investments, mini-grids, renewable energy and other electricity-related activities in the state.

It also provides for the creation of the State Independent System Operator and State Market Operator to support the development of an efficient and competitive electricity market.

Key provisions of the legislation include compulsory metering, protection of community and privately funded electricity infrastructure, and penalties for the sabotage of power facilities.

The law further establishes the Equipment Standards and Competence Certification Agency to regulate electrical equipment and ensure that professionals operating in the sector meet required standards.

The legislation also strengthens the Ondo State Power Company and provides greater protection and regulatory certainty for investors in electricity generation, distribution, renewable energy and related infrastructure.

According to the state government on its X handle on Thursday, the new legal framework is designed to attract private investment and expand access to reliable electricity across the state.

The government said the law would “attract private investment, expand electricity access, promote renewable energy” and use reliable power supply to drive industrialisation and economic development.

The administration said the establishment of dedicated regulatory and market institutions would create a more structured electricity sector while improving confidence among investors and other stakeholders.

The government also said the provisions protecting electricity infrastructure and imposing penalties for sabotage would help safeguard investments and improve the reliability of power supply.

With the new law, the state government said Ondo was positioning its electricity sector to support industrial growth, expand economic opportunities and promote sustainable energy development.

Source: punchng.com

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