The Federal Government plans to spend about N206.5 billion on poverty alleviation projects in its 2026 budget, representing only 0.35 per cent of the total N58.47 trillion spending proposal submitted to the National Assembly. When compared with the capital budget of N23.21 trillion, the poverty-related allocation accounts for roughly 0.89 per cent.
Most of the allocation is concentrated under the Service Wide Vote, where the National Poverty Reduction with Growth Strategy (NPRGS) receives N200 billion, split equally between FGN commitments, including NSIP upscaling, and recurrent NPRGS provisions. Outside these entries, all ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) combined account for only N6.5 billion, highlighting the limited direct intervention at the MDA level.
Among the larger MDA-based allocations, the Federal Co-operative College, Ibadan, tops the list with N2.87 billion for tricycles and motorcycles to empower selected communities. Other significant allocations include the Centre for Management Development (N840 million), Board for Technology Business Incubator Centre Abuja (N700 million), Nigeria Stored Products Research Ilorin (N507.5 million), and the Federal Co-operative College Oji River (N364 million). Together, these five MDAs account for over 81 per cent of the total non-Service Wide Vote poverty budget.
Most projects focus on three areas: distribution of grains and food items, provision of transport and empowerment tools, and capacity building or skills acquisition for women, youth, and SMEs. Smaller portions go to studies, symposiums, technology incubation, and administrative coordination of poverty strategies.
The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation saw its budget jump from N7.1 billion in 2025 to N23.56 billion in 2026, a 232 per cent increase largely driven by capital spending. However, several of the ministry’s capital projects, such as classroom construction, ministerial retreats, office equipment, and participation in the UN General Assembly, were not directly linked to poverty reduction.
The data from the World Bank reveals that only 44 per cent of benefits from government-funded social safety nets reach poor Nigerians. Nigeria spends barely 0.14 per cent of its GDP on social protection, far below the global average of 1.5 per cent, limiting the impact of these programmes.
Poverty projections remain alarming. PwC’s Nigeria Economic Outlook 2026 estimates that 62 per cent of Nigerians, or roughly 141 million people, will be living below the poverty line, driven by weak real income growth and persistently high living costs. The World Bank’s Nigeria Development Update reports a similar trend, with the absolute number of poor rising from 81 million in 2019 to about 139 million in 2025.
Both PwC and the World Bank warn that without targeted interventions, such as job creation, productivity improvements, and effective social protection, reducing poverty in Nigeria will remain a formidable challenge. Rising poverty could weaken domestic consumption, slow productivity growth, and increase pressure on public finances, underscoring the urgent need for more focused and substantial investments in poverty alleviation.
