World Bank Warns: Nigeria’s Economic Growth Fails to Combat Extreme Poverty, Highlights Urgent Concerns
In a concerning revelation, the World Bank has issued a stark warning, declaring Nigeria’s economic growth insufficient to tackle the grave challenge of extreme poverty in the country. The Washington-based institution raised this alarm in its recently published Global Development Prospect report for June 2023.
Despite persistent energy and economic hurdles, the World Bank retained its forecasted 2.8% Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate for Nigeria in 2023. However, this projection comes amidst a backdrop of escalating insecurity and numerous economic challenges faced by the nation.
The report also downgraded the economic growth forecast for Sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria, to 3.2% in 2023, compared to the previously projected 3.4% in the April World Economic Outlook.
The World Bank attributed the slowdown in Nigeria’s non-oil sector, which experienced a post-pandemic rebound earlier this year, to persistently high inflation, foreign exchange shortages, and a scarcity of banknotes caused by currency redesign.
Highlighting the critical situation, the bank stated, “Growth in the three largest SSA economies – Nigeria, South Africa, and Angola – slowed to 2.8% in 2022 and continued to weaken in the first half of this year. In Angola and Nigeria – SSA’s largest oil producers – the growth momentum has stalled amid lower energy prices and stagnant oil production.
“According to the National Bureau of Statistics, more than 65% of Nigerians currently live in multidimensional poverty, intensifying the urgency of the situation.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration had pledged to revitalize the country’s economy through robust economic policies. However, the World Bank’s warning emphasizes the pressing need for more substantial efforts to address Nigeria’s economic challenges and combat the alarming levels of extreme poverty plaguing the nation.
