Nigeria should achieve GDP's prolonged growth of nearly 7 percent if it is expected to significantly reduce poverty and raise the livelihood standards of its citizens, says the financial minister and coordinating minister of the economy, Wale Edun.
Edun made the comment while responding to questions at a press briefing following the end of the 2024 spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank in Washington, DC
While acknowledging that the Nigeria economy is currently growing at an average rate of 3.4 percent in 2025, with the latest quarterly figure recorded at 3.84 percent, Edun emphasized that this speed was insufficient to lift millions of Nigerians to poverty.
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“Unless we get to nearly 7% growth, we will not reduce poverty and improve the lives of the Nigerians,” he said. “That's the target and promise of this administration.”
However, the optimism expressed by the Minister stands in contrast to hopes from the IMF and the World Bank. According to the IMF's latest forecast, Nigeria's GDP is expected to grow only 3.0 percent this year. The World Bank's perspective is only higher than 3.6 percent. These projections feature a major gap between government ambitions and the country's economic reality.
More critical, Nigeria, whose African economy, is now dropping the fourth largest on the continent, which falls behind South Africa, Egypt, and Algeria, according to IMF data. The denial of the relative -child economic size emphasizes the severity of Nigerian growth challenges. Against this backdrop, analysts have argued that to reverse this trend and meaning to deal with poverty, Nigeria will need to double its current growth rate – a massive task given to the current country's economy.
The World Bank has already warned that the crisis of poverty in Nigeria is set to deepen, with a million -million more expected to slip into poverty by 2026 if urgent steps are not taken. In a recent report, the World Bank announced that Nigeria is now worth 15 percent of the poorest people in the world. It emphasizes the need for policies that promote inclusive growth, enhance food security, and strengthen social protection systems – areas that reflect the priorities that Edun features in Washington's short -term.
To reach the 7 percent growth rate, Edun outlined several strategic areas focus. He emphasized the importance of strengthening agricultural productivity, expanding the country's digital infrastructure, supporting young entrepreneurs through e-commerce initiatives, and improving financial access to all business segments. He noted that structural reforms, especially in the financial sector, were prioritized, along with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) working next to regulators to remove bottlenecks of access to capital and stimulate greater economic activity.
Edun also spoke widely about the administration's revised focus on social protection programs, aimed at protecting the country's most vulnerable citizens from the harsh impact of economic reforms. He said the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system was updated to ensure monthly digital payments made to verify individuals through their bank accounts or mobile wallets, using a biometric registration linked to the National Identification Number (NIN) for greater transparency.
Currently, nearly one million individuals are enrolled in the program, but efforts continue to enroll three million more per month. The National Social Register, which is expected to represent nearly 20 million households, has expanded and proven digital to allow the Swift government intervention in future economic shocks.
Even in these efforts, analysts, and economists believe that having a 7 percent growth rate anytime soon may not be realistic. Many argue that the current foundations of the Nigerian economy – characterized by increasing inflation, weak industrial outputs, high unemployment, insecurity, inconsistencies of policy, and infrastructure deficiencies – produce such aggressive growth targets that are very difficult to achieve.
Moreover, economists have pointed out that while the President Ball's administration began with reforms such as removing fuel subsidies and the solitude of exchange rates, the immediate collapse from these policies-the increase in living costs, consumer demand, and refusal to buy power-is likely to slow down the short-to-medium term rather than speed it up.
With the GDP growth expected to be in between 3.0 and 3.6 percent, the gap between purpose and reality appears Stark. The World Bank's warning that millions of more Nigerians can push into extreme poverty by 2026 increases the growing pressure on the government to not only implement reforms, but to find ways to prioritize the devastating social effects they cause.
Ultimately, as Edun's statements reflect an aspirational vision for the future of Nigeria, the way to 7 percent growth will be asked more than the promises. Economists have noted that it will require consistent, proper policy implementation, massive private sector participation, violent improvement in infrastructure and security, and a social protection system that is capable of absorbing the shock of economic adjustments.
