Nigeria is not getting better- Poverty, unemployment still high

World Bank said poverty reduction and job creation programmes by the federal government have not kept pace with the population growth, thereby implying social distress for an increasing number of people in the country.

A report released recently titled ‘Nigeria Economic Report (NER), suggested that Nigeria will need to build up its fiscal reserve to protect the country from oil price volatility. It will also need to increase internally generated revenue to compensate for what will likely be declining oil revenues relative to the size of the economy.

The NER also said that Nigeria’s economic growth has not automatically translated into better economic and social welfare for Nigerians. 

The report notes: “Poverty reduction and job creation have not kept pace with population growth, implying social distress for an increasing number of Nigerians”, the report said.

“Given that Nigerian GDP is growing much faster than oil output, and is experiencing significant inflation at a stable exchange rate, the size of government oil revenues relative to GDP should decline even in the event that oil prices increase. This was already the case in 2012, as government oil revenues fell from an estimated 23.6% to 19.7% of GDP. This decline may increase budgetary pressures and justifies a prudent fiscal stance.” - DailyTrust