The World Bank has criticized Nigeria’s government for its slow response to the inflation that is currently pushing many Nigerians into poverty and food insecurity.
As of May of this year, Nigeria’s inflation rate had increased to 17.71 percent, above the World Bank’s projection that it would reach 15.5 percent in 2022.
Nigeria might see among of the highest rates of inflation globally in 2022, the World Bank warned, with rising prices lowering the welfare of Nigerian consumers.
Despite the urgency, the authorities’ reaction over the last two years has not been effective, and inflation has grown and fueled poverty and food insecurity, according to a World Bank research titled “The Continuing Urgency of Business Unusual.”
The financial organization also stated that between 2020 and 2022, an additional 15 million Nigerians are expected to fall into poverty as a result of the inflation shock.
According to a different report from the Washington-based bank, the number of poor Nigerians is expected to reach 95.1 million in 2022. It also cautioned that many non-poor Nigerians were just one minor setback away from becoming poor.
The lender claims that such a shock can be brought on by environmental or political unrest, which could endanger Nigeria’s attempts to combat poverty.
Recall that the World Bank had claimed that despite the inflation shock putting an estimated eight million Nigerians below the poverty line in 2021, the Federal Government of Nigeria did not take any coordinated action to reduce inflation.
