The Federal Government plans to spend about N206.50bn on poverty alleviation-related projects in the 2026 budget, an amount that represents far below one per cent of the total N58.47tn spending proposal submitted to the National Assembly.

A review of project-level data from the 2026 Appropriation Bill shows that all items directly tagged to poverty alleviation across ministries, departments, and agencies, as well as the Service Wide Vote, add up to N206.5bn.

When measured against the proposed total budget of N58.47tn, this translates to about 0.35 per cent of overall federal spending for the year. When compared with the capital budget of N23.21tn, the poverty-related envelope represents roughly 0.89 per cent.

The bulk of this allocation comes from the Service Wide Vote, where two major recurrent provisions under the National Poverty Reduction with Growth Strategy dominate the figures.

The first is the National Poverty Reduction with Growth Strategy under FGN commitment, including NSIP upscaling with a provision of N100bn, while the second is the NPRGS recurrent allocation of another N100bn.

Together, they account for N200bn, which is over 96 per cent of the entire poverty alleviation envelope for 2026. This means that without the Service-Wide Vote entries, all MDAs combined account for only N6.50bn in poverty-related projects.

The Border Communities Development Agency headquarters records N63m across two projects targeted at the Zamfara North Senatorial District. These include N28m for poverty alleviation and empowerment for women in Zamfara North and N35m for poverty alleviation and empowerment in the same district. These are geographically focused interventions that make up a small fraction of the overall allocation.

The Federal Ministry of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs has N9.1m for monitoring and evaluation of poverty alleviation programmes, reflecting an administrative rather than direct intervention focus.

Under the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security headquarters, N140m is allocated across two projects. The larger of the two is N105m for the provision and supply of agricultural grains for poverty alleviation in Ekiti, Oke Ero, Offa, and Ifelodun local government areas in Kwara South Senatorial District.

The second is N35m for the construction and rehabilitation of solar-powered and motorised boreholes, and for the provision of skills-acquisition starter packs to youths and citizens across the six geopolitical zones. Together, they signal a mix of food distribution and basic infrastructure linked to poverty reduction.

The National Centre for Agricultural Mechanisation in Ilorin records N245m, broken down as N105m for the purchase and distribution of empowerment items to selected women and youths in Lagos, focused on the creative industry, and N140m for capacity building and skill acquisition across 26 wards in Akinyele and Lagelu Federal Constituency in Oyo State.

One of the largest non-Service Wide Vote allocations comes from the Federal Co-operative College, Ibadan, which has N2.87bn for the provision of tricycles and motorcycles for poverty alleviation of selected communities across the six geopolitical zones. This single project accounts for about 44 per cent of the N6.50bn MDA-based poverty envelope.

The Federal Co-operative College Oji River has N364m, comprising N350m for the supply of grains to selected communities in Edo State to address hunger and poverty, and N14m for the empowerment of women and widows in the Orumba North and South Federal Constituencies. This again combines food support with small-scale empowerment.

The Federal College of Horticulture Dadin Kowa in Gombe has been allocated N140m to supply empowerment items to youth and women to alleviate poverty across all wards of the Zaki local government area.

Nigeria Stored Products Research in Ilorin has N507.5m spread across three projects. These include N210m each for the provision of grains in Owan West and Owan East local government areas of Edo State and N87.5m for the supply of grains to selected communities in the North Central region. Grain distribution, therefore, forms a major component of the poverty interventions under this agency.

The Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Investment headquarters has N7.7m for implementing strategies to create 100 million jobs and lift people out of poverty, which is one of the smallest line items in the data.

SMEDAN headquarters has N105m for capacity building and training for selected women and youths on creative industry prospects and agricultural value chains in the Kaga, Magumeri, and Gubio Federal Constituencies in Borno State.

The Federal Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation has N16.47m split between N3.17m for promoting bamboo value chains for sustainable livelihoods and N13.3m for the Nigerian Chemical Industry Action Project aimed at lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty between 2020 and 2030.

The Nigeria Natural Medicine Development Agency has N17.5m to cover a study tour of the six geopolitical zones to strategise on intellectual property rights for traditional medicine, and N7m for research and development of plant-based nutritional and medicinal foods for wellbeing, food security, and job creation.

The National Space Research and Development Agency has N56m for space applications to achieve sustainable development goals, including poverty reduction, agriculture, education, and health.

One of the largest MDA-based allocations is N700m under the Board for Technology Business Incubator Centre, Abuja, for empowerment and poverty alleviation through technology and innovative materials across all local government areas in Zamfara West Senatorial District.

The Federal Ministry of Works has N70m for the supply of tricycles for youth and women empowerment in the Abadam, Guzamala, and Kukawa Federal Constituencies in Borno State.

The Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning headquarters has N143.5m for the National Poverty Reduction with Growth Strategy, made up of N73.5m and N70m for the FGN commitment, including NSIP upscaling.

The Centre for Management Development has been allocated N840m to supply empowerment items to SMEs to alleviate poverty in selected locations. This is the second-largest MDA-based poverty intervention after the tricycle programme under the Cooperative College, Ibadan.

Water-related agencies have smaller entries. The Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation has N5.6m for the coordination of river basin strategy and human capital development for poverty alleviation, while the Upper Niger River Basin Development Authority has N35m for human capital development for youths through Songhai activities. The Nigeria Integrated Water Management Commission has N70m for empowerment across Adavi Local Government Area in Kogi State.

The Centre for Black and Africa Arts and Civilisation has N59.5m for two symposiums on empowering Africa and integrating policy frameworks for sustainable poverty alleviation and economic development.

The Federal Ministry of Women Affairs headquarters has N14m for an end-period-poverty campaign, while the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation has N20.3m for the establishment and activities of the National Council on Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction.

Looking at the five MDAs with the largest poverty-related allocations outside the Service Wide Vote, the Federal Co-operative College Ibadan leads with N2.87bn, followed by the Centre for Management Development with N840m, the Board for Technology Business Incubator Centre Abuja with N700m, Nigeria Stored Products Research Ilorin with N507.5m, and the Federal Co-operative College Oji River with N364m. Together, these five account for about N5.28bn out of the N6.50bn MDA total, which is more than 81 per cent of all poverty tagged spending outside the central NPRGS provisions.

The data shows that most projects focus on three main areas. These are the distribution of grains and food items, the supply of transport and empowerment tools such as tricycles and motorcycles, and capacity building or skills acquisition for women, youths, and SMEs. A smaller portion goes into studies, symposiums, technology incubation, and administrative coordination of poverty strategies.

However, The PUNCH observed that the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation saw its total allocation jump from N7.10bn in 2025 to N23.56bn in 2026, an increase of N16.46bn or about 232%.

The rise is driven almost entirely by capital spending, which surged from N4.60bn to N21.18bn, while personnel costs fell from N1.52bn to N1.40bn, and overheads were flat at N978.39m.

This means the ministry’s 2026 budget is now 90% capital-heavy, compared with about 65% in 2025, showing a sharp shift towards project-based spending rather than administration. Despite this, several of the capital projects were not directly linked to poverty alleviation.

The PUNCH observed the ministry budgeted N112m for office furniture and fittings, N113.4m for office machines and equipment, and another N70m for digital press and strategic communication facilities.

It further provided N56m for participation in the 2025 United Nations General Assembly, N63m for ministerial retreats, and N108.5m for compliance with international public-sector accounting and financial reporting standards.

Administrative and systems-related items, such as N70m for accounting and budgeting automation, N53.2m for asset inventory and reconciliation software, and N49m for reforms coordination, were also included under capital spending.

Also, N175m was earmarked for solar streetlights in Funtua and Dandume Federal Constituency and N280m each for classroom construction in two local government areas in Cross River State, projects that are not directly classified as poverty alleviation interventions.

In a report titled “The State of Social Safety Nets in Nigeria”, the World Bank revealed that only 44 per cent of total benefits from government-funded safety-net schemes actually reach poor Nigerians.

The World Bank described Nigeria’s social safety-net spending as inefficient, saying a smaller portion of benefits goes to the poor despite their dominance among beneficiaries.

According to the bank, Nigeria spends barely 0.14 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product on social protection, far below the global average of 1.5 per cent and the Sub-Saharan African average of 1.1 per cent. That tiny allocation, the report warns, has had “almost no impact” on poverty.

In its Nigeria Economic Outlook 2026, PwC noted that Nigeria’s poverty rate is projected to rise sharply to 62 per cent by 2026, with about 141 million people expected to be living below the poverty line.

The report notes that, despite recent policy actions aimed at restoring macroeconomic stability, weak real income growth and persistently high living costs are likely to push more households into poverty over the next two years.

PwC estimates that most Nigerians will struggle to record income gains strong enough to offset rising prices in the near term, particularly as inflation continues to erode purchasing power.

“Poverty is projected to rise to 62 per cent (141 million people) by 2026, reflecting weak real income growth and lingering inflation effects,” PwC noted.

The World Bank’s Nigeria Development Update shares a similar view. The lender noted that the absolute number of people living in poverty has increased sharply, from about 81 million in 2019 to roughly 139 million in 2025, meaning nearly 62 per cent of the population now lives below the poverty line. Earlier estimates showed about 115 million Nigerians in poverty in 2023, rising to around 129 million in 2024, indicating that about 14 million people fell into poverty in just one year.

Both PwC and the World Bank caution that without targeted interventions such as job creation, productivity improvements, and effective social protection programmes, reducing poverty levels in Nigeria will remain a major challenge. Rising poverty, they warn, could also weaken domestic consumption, limit productivity growth, and place additional pressure on public finances.

“Poverty is projected to rise to 62 per cent (141 million people) by 2026, reflecting weak real income growth and lingering inflation effects,” PwC noted.

The World Bank’s Nigeria Development Update shares a similar view. The lender noted that the absolute number of people living in poverty has increased sharply, from about 81 million in 2019 to roughly 139 million in 2025, meaning nearly 62 per cent of the population now lives below the poverty line. Earlier estimates showed about 115 million Nigerians in poverty in 2023, rising to around 129 million in 2024, indicating that about 14 million people fell into poverty in just one year.

Both PwC and the World Bank caution that without targeted interventions such as job creation, productivity improvements, and effective social protection programmes, reducing poverty levels in Nigeria will remain a major challenge. Rising poverty, they warn, could also weaken domestic consumption, limit productivity growth, and place additional pressure on public finances.