Vice President Kashim Shettima says the Federal Government’s ongoing reforms are designed to lift between 40 and 50 million Nigerians out of multidimensional poverty within the next decade.
Speaking in Abuja at the Nextier Development Solutions Festival (DevFest2025), themed “Ending Poverty in Nigeria,” Shettima—represented by Special Adviser to the President on Power Infrastructure, Sadiq Wanka—unveiled the government’s “Poverty Exit Plan,” anchored on three pillars: investment in infrastructure, economic and financial inclusion, and transforming agriculture into value-driven, mechanised production.
He pointed to early results of the reforms, including external reserves rising to $42 billion, six consecutive months of inflation decline, Naira stabilisation, and a 44.3 per cent increase in trade surplus in the first half of 2025, valued at over N10 trillion. The government, he added, has disbursed over N330 billion in Conditional Cash Transfers to 8.1 million households and N80 billion in student loans to 400,000 beneficiaries through NELFUND, while attracting over $1 billion to agriculture via the National Agricultural Development Fund.
Shettima described the removal of petrol subsidy and the unification of the foreign exchange market as “bold economic surgery” necessary to create fiscal space for investments. He projected that sustained implementation of these reforms could drive GDP growth, reduce inequality, cut poverty, and bring inflation to single digits by 2026.
The Head of the European Union Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Ambassador Gautier Mignot, stressed that poverty reduction must be rooted in sound domestic policies, though international partners can provide critical support. The EU, he disclosed, has committed over €87 million to Nigeria’s social protection systems and €150 million in humanitarian aid to address food insecurity.
Enugu State Secretary to the Government, Professor Chidiebere Onyia, shared lessons from the state’s interventions in education, agriculture and health, while Nextier partners Ndubuisi Nwokolo and Patrick Okigbo III urged stakeholders to move beyond token measures and embrace scalable, evidence-based solutions.
With over 82 million Nigerians still living below the poverty line, stakeholders agreed that sustained reforms, local innovations, and broad partnerships are vital to achieving shared prosperity.
