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15 to 20 million Nigerians to become poor by 2022- World Bank
By Modupe Shodeinde
The World Bank said that estimates show that between 15 million and 20 million Nigerians will join the poverty rank by 2022.
During the virtual launch of the 2021 Macroeconomic Outlook of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, a private sector-led think-tank, it was noted that in order to get the economy out of its current state, Nigeria has to implement key reforms.
World Bank Senior Economist, Gloria Joseph-Raji, noted that the Nigeria economy be was badly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, throwing the country into its deepest recession since the 1980s and the second in five years, in 2020.
She stated that policies that help to improve the business environment and improve the welfare of the average Nigerian have to be implemented.
She said, “We actually consider Nigeria right now to be at a critical junction in the sense that the achievement of its development goal of lifting 100 million people out of poverty by 2030 was already challenging even before COVID-19 struck, and then COVID-19 has made this even more challenging and more urgent.
“So, with lower growth and fewer jobs, and then coupled with high inflation, our estimates are that the number of the poor will increase by about 15 to 20 million people by 2022 from the about 83 million people in 2019. And the 2019 numbers are from the Nigeria Living Standards Survey of 2018/2019.”
Joseph-Raji explained that authorities had taken some bold reforms in order to respond to the crisis, including, adoption of a market-based mechanism for petroleum pricing and adjusting electricity tariffs to more cost-reflective levels in order to free up fiscal resources.
She however added that “more needs to be done if Nigeria really wants to make progress towards meeting its broad development goals.”
She pointed out some key priorities for the government such as adopting more transparent and credible foreign exchange allocation, mobilising tax revenues in a way that does not negatively affect investments and growth, strengthening the management of monetary policies towards the primary objective of price stability.
“The outlook is very uncertain, and there is a need for the government to prioritise certain key policy reforms if Nigeria must really turn the corner and recover and rebuild resilient and inclusive growth,” she said.
The Chairman of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council, Dr Doyin Salami, on his part emphasised on the need for more investment in the country.
He said, “If the economy is going to grow and people are going to feel it, then it is pretty clear that output growth must not only be rapid. We really do need to find ourselves in a position where this economy is growing at about six per cent, and to move in that direction requires significant investments.”
