The World Bank has projected that poverty will increase in Nigeria by three percentage points in five years to 2027. 

The World Bank made this projection in its Africa Pulse report released on the sidelines of the ongoing Spring Meetings of the IMF and World Bank in Washington DC. 

The report, among other information, painted a dire picture of poverty in Nigeria, noting that while economic activity has shown some positive signs, the underlying challenges associated with resource dependence and fragility are projected to escalate poverty levels, demanding focused and effective governance reforms and inclusive economic policies.

The report noted that while Nigeria saw higher-than-expected economic growth in the final quarter of 2024, particularly in its non-oil sector, the country’s status as a resource-rich and fragile nation means it faces a concerning outlook for poverty reduction.

The report indicates that poverty rates in resource-rich, fragile countries, including Nigeria, are expected to increase by 3.6 percentage points between 2022 and 2027, making it the only group in Sub-Saharan Africa with a projected rise in poverty.

The report stated: “Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest extreme poverty rate globally, and a large share of the poor is concentrated in a few countries. About 80 percent of the world’s estimated 695 million extreme poor resided in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2024, compared to 8 percent in South Asia, 2 percent in East Asia and the Pacific, 5 percent in the Middle East and North Africa, and 3 percent in Latin America and the Caribbean.”Within Sub-Saharan Africa, half of the 560 million extreme poor in 2024 resided in four countries. Non-resource-rich countries are expected to continue reducing poverty faster than resource-rich countries. “Thanks to higher prices of agricultural commodities, non-

resource-rich countries will see higher growth overall, despite fiscal pressures. Conversely, resource-rich countries are not expected to grow at the same rate given decelerating oil prices. As a result, resource-rich countries are expected to see less progress in terms of poverty reduction.”Importantly, poverty in resource-rich, fragile countries (which include large countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria) is expected to increase by 3.6 percentage points over 2022–27, being the only group in the region with increasing poverty rates.

“This follows a well-established pattern: resource wealth combined with fragility or conflict is associated with the highest poverty rates—an average poverty rate of 46 per cent in 2024, 13 percentage points above non-fragile, resource-rich countries.

“Meanwhile, non-resource-rich, non-fragile countries saw the biggest gains in poverty reduction since 2000 and fully closed the gap in poverty with other non-resource-rich countries by 2010.”

Consequently, the report suggests that for resource-rich countries like Nigeria, improving fiscal management and developing a stronger fiscal contract with citizens is crucial.

A former presidential adviser and ex-member of the House of Representatives, Usman Bugaje, has accused the ruling All Progressives Congress of using financial inducements to orchestrate the defection of key figures from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party.

Bugaje made the statement during a televised interview on Arise TV on Thursday.

He expressed concern over what he described as the monetisation of politics and its implications for Nigeria’s democracy.

“For what I know—and I don’t claim to know everything—the APC is basically using money to buy off PDP,” he said. 

He further noted that in some cases, individuals facing investigations might also be pressured through threats.

“Of course, if there are people with records in the EFCC, they might threaten them. They might do these kinds of things, and this has been the practice right from the time of President Obasanjo,” he added.

Bugaje stressed that the deeper issue lies in how money has become a central factor in political allegiance, warning that such trends could signal the demise of democracy. 

“For as long as money is going to be the determining factor, then that’s the end of democracy and that’s the end of politics. We would be heading towards something completely different, maybe on the path of Peru and Fujimori,” he said.

Reacting to recent mass defections in Delta State, the PDP’s acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, had said the party was not expecting the wave of departures but insisted that the next election would be a contest between Nigerians and the APC.

Bugaje, however, described the PDP’s response as weak. He argued that the PDP had already lost its ability to function as an opposition party, citing internal failures and a lack of resolve.

“There has not been opposition right from the time the Minister Wike did what he did. PDP has lost that opportunity to become an opposition party,” he stated.

He cited poor conduct by PDP members in national matters such as emergency rule debates and budget sessions, claiming that the party had failed to hold government to account.

Bugaje also pointed to structural flaws within Nigeria’s political parties, recalling his own experience during the merger that formed the APC. He said efforts to introduce merit-based criteria for party leadership were thwarted.

“We should develop a criteria for people who are going to hold responsibilities of the party. They all opposed it, except a few of us,” Bugaje said, adding that personal political interests had overshadowed institutional development.

He warned that the dominance of transactional relationships in party politics, where loyalty is exchanged for money or influence, has eroded the values of political engagement.

“People who don’t have the character to hold a party, people who don’t have sufficient education to understand the implication of some of the things they do—these are the people now in charge,” he said.

Bugaje concluded by affirming his long-standing opposition to these practices.

“I fought this as much as I could. I pulled back when I realised that, but I made my point. If you have people who are qualified, who have character, who have got the passion for the party, you can be sure one thing: that party is going to remain intact,” he said.

A former governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, has said that the weakness of the National Assembly opened the door for President Bola Tinubu’s constitutional breach in the country.

The ex-minister of transportation disclosed this on Thursday while condemning the suspension of Rivers State governor, Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy and lawmakers of the state assembly.

He spoke at the ninth edition of the Akinjide Adeosun Foundation’s Annual Leadership Discourse, themed “Fearless Leadership: A Panacea for Sustainable Development,” organised in Lagos.

He said, “Do you agree that there is nothing like a fearless leader and there is nothing like courageous leadership? Do you (Nigerians) need a courageous leader where the system works? Just push the button, and everything will give you the answer. It is only when there is a failed leadership that you begin to look at who is the courageous leader. There are different types of leadership traits, and fearless leadership is not one of them. There is the authoritarian leadership trait, which is one who knows it all. Such leaders tell you what to do without consulting and expect you to obey. 

“You can either have a fearless followership or a docile followership. Does Nigeria resonate here as per the docility of followership? Does it resonate here? Yes. Good governance is about constitutionality and the rule of law. It is also about the concept of the separation of powers. The absence of good governance and the rule of law breeds arbitrariness in governance. Arbitrariness here has to do with the non-observance of the basic principles of law.

“For a governor or a president, who subscribes to such a concept, it is what he or she does that is law. It is not what is in the book that is the law. There is also the non-observance of the basic principles of law. This is where government is not by law, but by the whims and caprices of an individual leader, like the current pronouncement of an illegal and unconstitutional state of emergency in Rivers State, aided by weak institutions like the National Assembly, which is very weak.”

The former governor also urged Nigerians to be proactive in reacting to poor governance, saying docility was an enabler of bad leadership.

“What is even more alarming is that the breach in the situation is not even about the law. The president didn’t break any law. He broke the Constitution. Now, this breach of the Constitution is a breach of the sacredness and sanctity of the Constitution.

“The constitution of a country is the Bible of that country. And its sanctity must be protected. Can we say the same in Nigeria? Obviously, the response would be a resounding no. The president looked at the whole of Nigeria and removed an elected governor in Rivers State and appointed a military man, yet the country continued. Nothing happened.”

Governor Sheriff Oborevwori’s defection to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has put the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in a precarious position in Delta State.

The defection happened three months after the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Festus Ahon, dismissed the rumour about his alleged plan to join the APC as speculations concocted by some APC elements. 

Reacting to the speculation in January, Ahon said that given Oborevwori’s popularity and acceptance in Delta, the governor has no reason to dump the PDP for any other party.

According to him, the speculation was pushed because the APC — the opposition party at the time — was threatened by the rising acceptance and bridge-building efforts of the governor across political divides.

However, despite Ahon’s denial, Oborevwori’s rumoured plan to join the APC continued to swell.

To further dispel the speculation, the Delta State Commissioner for Works, Rural Roads and Public Information, Charles Aniagwu, while speaking on Arise TV on Friday, January 17, 2025, explained that the PDP remains a strong party in Delta State, adding that Governor Oborevwori doesn’t jump ship like other politicians.

“Oborevwori is not only a proud member of the PDP, and remains a proud leader of the PDP both in Delta and in Nigeria, he is also a performing governor, who has also been able to show that he can be regarded as the poster governor for the PDP. So, those who are wishing that he’s jumping ship, we want to tell them that Oborevwori is not in the business of jumping ship,” he said.

Also, when the defection rumour started, the PDP described it as a baseless and sinister speculation by jobless political hirelings and their ignoble sponsors.

The party, therefore, advised “members of the public to disregard the dubious speculation, assuring them that all that nothing can distract the governor.”

However, in a surprising twist, the governor, alongside his commissioners and his predecessor, Ifeanyi Okowa, announced their defection to the APC.

Delta State Commissioner for Works (Rural Roads) and Public Information, Mr. Charles Aniagwu, cited the lingering crisis in the PDP as one reason for their defection.

“This move is aimed at ensuring that Delta State continues on the path of development, security, and progress. Remaining in the PDP, given the current circumstances, would only truncate that journey,” he said.

Meanwhile, Governor Oborevwori had somehow validated his rumoured defection when he ascribed his administration’s success to President Bola Tinubu’s performance.

The governor, while addressing Deltans in December 2024, declared his support for President Tinubu’s administration and also asked his people to support the president, noting that his administration would fail if Tinubu failed. 

“Whether you like it or not, I will say it here, Mr. President, that you see, he is supporting this administration. God has made him president, as God has made me the Governor. So, as you are supporting me, support him,” Governor Oborevwori said.

While the APC rejoices over the defection of key political stakeholders in Delta State, the development puts the PDP in a precarious situation, as the party loses its over 25-year grip on the oil-rich state.