The Federal Government of Nigeria has earmarked just N206.5 billion, or roughly 0.35 per cent of the proposed N58.47 trillion 2026 budget, for poverty alleviation initiatives, highlighting a stark mismatch between funding and the country’s escalating poverty crisis.
According to a review of the 2026 Appropriation Bill, the majority of the allocation comes from the Service Wide Vote, including N100 billion each for the National Poverty Reduction with Growth Strategy (NPRGS) and the NSIP upscaling, leaving only N6.5 billion distributed across ministries, departments, and agencies for direct poverty-related projects. The limited funding is spread across initiatives such as grain distribution, tricycle and motorcycle empowerment programmes, skills acquisition for youths and women, and small-scale capacity-building projects.
The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation saw its allocation increase from N7.1 billion in 2025 to N23.56 billion in 2026, largely due to capital spending on office equipment, classroom construction, solar streetlights, and other projects, many of which are not directly targeted at poverty reduction.
Experts warn that the tiny budget allocation comes at a critical time. The World Bank reports that only 44% of social safety net benefits reach the poor, while Nigeria spends just 0.14% of GDP on social protection, far below the global average of 1.5%. The PwC 2026 Nigeria Economic Outlook projects that Nigeria’s poverty rate could climb to 62%, affecting roughly 141 million people, driven by weak income growth and rising inflation.
Both PwC and the World Bank stress that without focused interventions such as job creation, productivity enhancement, and effective social protection programmes, poverty reduction will remain elusive, potentially undermining domestic consumption, productivity, and public finances.
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