The Federal Government of Nigeria intends to allocate about N206.5 billion to poverty alleviation projects in its 2026 budget, representing less than one per cent of the proposed N58.47 trillion total spending submitted to the National Assembly.
A review of the 2026 Appropriation Bill shows that poverty-focused allocations across ministries, departments, agencies (MDAs), and the Service Wide Vote add up to N206.5bn. This amounts to roughly 0.35% of total federal expenditure and 0.89% of the capital budget of N23.21tn.
The majority of this funding comes from the Service Wide Vote, dominated by two recurrent provisions under the National Poverty Reduction with Growth Strategy (NPRGS). These include N100bn for NSIP upscaling and N100bn for NPRGS recurrent allocations, together accounting for over 96% of the poverty alleviation budget. Without these entries, all MDAs combined would only contribute N6.5bn.
Among MDA-specific allocations:
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Federal Co-operative College, Ibadan: N2.87bn for providing tricycles and motorcycles across six geopolitical zones.
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Centre for Management Development: N840m for SME empowerment.
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Board for Technology Business Incubator Centre, Abuja: N700m for technological and innovation-based poverty interventions.
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Nigeria Stored Products Research, Ilorin: N507.5m for grain distribution to Edo State and North Central communities.
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Federal Co-operative College, Oji River: N364m for grain supply and women/widow empowerment in selected areas.
Other interventions include food and grain distribution, tricycles/motorcycles for empowerment, and skills acquisition programs for women, youth, and SMEs. Smaller allocations target studies, symposiums, technology incubation, and administrative oversight.
Significant increases were observed for the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, rising from N7.1bn in 2025 to N23.56bn in 2026, largely due to capital spending (N21.18bn), while personnel and overhead costs remained stable. Some capital projects, however, such as office furniture, ministerial retreats, and classroom construction, are not directly linked to poverty reduction.
Experts have repeatedly warned that despite government spending, Nigeria’s social safety nets remain inefficient. The World Bank noted that only 44% of benefits from government-funded schemes reach poor Nigerians. Nigeria currently spends 0.14% of GDP on social protection, far below the 1.5% global average and 1.1% Sub-Saharan African average.
Economic forecasts suggest poverty will rise to 62% in 2026, affecting roughly 141 million Nigerians, driven by weak real income growth, high living costs, and inflation, according to PwC. The World Bank reports similar trends, showing poverty levels rising from 81 million in 2019 to 139 million in 2025.
Both organizations stress that without targeted job creation, productivity improvements, and effective social protection, poverty reduction will remain a challenge, potentially limiting domestic consumption, productivity growth, and placing additional pressure on public finances.
