By Joyce Ekeh
ActionAid Nigeria has declared that the country’s 4.2 per cent economic growth in the first half of 2026 is insufficient to tackle widespread poverty, unemployment and the rising cost of living, urging the Federal Government to target double-digit growth, single-digit inflation and a living wage for workers.
The organisation also called for greater transparency in public spending, affordable electricity, improved public services and sustained interventions to cushion households against rising fuel prices.
In a statement issued on Monday, ActionAid Nigeria’s Country Director, Dr Andrew Mamedu, acknowledged improvements in key economic indicators but said millions of Nigerians were yet to feel the benefits in their daily lives.
According to Mamedu, the World Bank’s October 2026 Nigeria Development Update showed that real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 4.2 per cent in the first half of 2026, compared with 3.9 per cent in the corresponding period of 2025.
He added that federation revenues rose by 69 per cent in real terms between 2023 and 2025, while state government revenues increased by about 93 per cent. Nigeria’s external reserves also exceeded $54 billion in September 2026.
However, he argued that stronger economic figures would mean little unless they translated into improved purchasing power, better public services and reduced inequality.
“We acknowledge the improvements in Nigeria’s economic indicators, but economic growth must mean more than impressive figures in government reports. When revenues rise, but families cannot afford food, transportation, healthcare, and education, we must ask who benefits from that growth,” Mamedu said.
“The true measure of economic progress is not how much money government generates, but how many Nigerians are lifted out of poverty.”
ActionAid targets 10% economic growth
The organisation urged the Federal Government to pursue sustainable double-digit GDP growth of at least 10 per cent in the medium term, arguing that the current pace of expansion was inadequate to address Nigeria’s development challenges.
Mamedu noted that with population growth estimated at about 2.1 per cent annually, economic growth needed to accelerate significantly to deliver substantial improvements in household incomes, job creation and living standards.
He also called for inflation to be brought down to single digits, noting that headline inflation stood at 15.39 per cent in August 2026.
To achieve this, he urged the government to increase domestic food production, improve transportation networks, reduce energy costs and strengthen local productivity to ease price pressures.
ActionAid further cited World Bank estimates that about 63 per cent of Nigerians live below the national poverty line, stressing the need for policies that distribute economic opportunities more equitably.
Rising revenues, poor public services
The organisation expressed concern over what it described as a disconnect between rising government revenues and investment in essential public services.
According to Mamedu, education’s share of aggregate state expenditure declined from 14.9 per cent in 2021 to 12.1 per cent in 2025, while health spending remained at around seven per cent.
He called on federal and state governments to publish accessible expenditure reports showing how additional revenues were deployed to education, healthcare, infrastructure, social protection and poverty reduction.
He maintained that public expenditure should be assessed by measurable outcomes rather than budgetary allocations alone.
The organisation said improved revenue generation should translate into better schools, functional healthcare facilities, reliable infrastructure and stronger social protection for vulnerable households.
Petrol relief not enough, says group
On the Federal Government’s 30-day petrol price relief initiative through NNPC Retail, ActionAid welcomed the intervention but warned that temporary relief measures were inadequate to address persistent energy costs and mounting pressure on household budgets.
Mamedu said petrol, which averaged about N900 per litre in February, was selling for around N1,400 at some outlets in October, pushing up transportation fares, food prices and business operating costs.
He called for sustained and transparent interventions, including affordable public transportation, targeted support for vulnerable households, improved electricity supply and investment in alternative energy sources.
Highlighting the pressure on low-income earners, he said a worker earning the national minimum wage of N70,000 monthly could afford only 50 litres of petrol at N1,400 per litre, leaving the worker with no money from that amount for food, housing, transportation or other essential needs.
He therefore urged the government to protect workers’ purchasing power and introduce measures that would move wages towards a living-wage standard.
Four priorities for inclusive growth
To make Nigeria’s economic recovery more inclusive, ActionAid identified four priority areas requiring urgent government attention.
These include reliable and affordable electricity; improved security for farming communities and transportation routes; affordable financing and reduced excessive levies for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises; and productive foreign investment in manufacturing, agriculture, technology and renewable energy.
The organisation also called for increased investment in education, healthcare and social protection, alongside transparent public spending and measurable poverty-reduction targets.
Mamedu warned that economic recovery would remain incomplete if households continued to struggle with rising prices despite improvements in government revenues and headline growth figures.
“Nigerians cannot continue to hear that the economy is recovering while their purchasing power keeps shrinking. We need an economy that puts food on people’s tables, keeps children in school, provides reliable electricity and creates decent jobs,” he said.
“With government revenues rising, citizens have every right to demand better services and greater accountability. Economic reforms must ultimately be judged by how many people they lift out of poverty, not how many billions they add to government accounts.”
ActionAid maintained that economic growth should be treated as a means of improving citizens’ welfare rather than an end in itself, urging the government to demonstrate how its policies were reducing poverty and expanding opportunities, particularly for women, young people and marginalised communities.
The organisation said the ultimate test of Nigeria’s economic recovery would be whether ordinary citizens could afford basic necessities, access quality public services and secure decent livelihoods.
