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The Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of Economy, Taiwo Oyedele has revealed that the Federal Government will soon publish a new set of metrics on income, poverty and related welfare indicators as part of a broader push to ensure growth is felt by citizens, not just reflected in macroeconomic numbers.
Oyedele made this remarks while delivering a keynote speech at the BusinessDay’s CEO Forum in Lagos on Thursday. He said the finance ministry would introduce a framework to gauge shared prosperity moving beyond traditional measures such as economic growth.
According to the World Bank’s Nigeria Development Update released in April 2026, the share of Nigerians living below the national poverty line rose from 56 per cent in 2023 to 61 per cent in 2024 and 63 per cent in 2025, meaning roughly 140 million Nigerians are living in poverty.
Although inflation has begun to moderate, the bank said wages and household incomes have not kept pace with the sharp rise in prices over the past two years. As a result, many Nigerians are still experiencing declining purchasing power.
Furthermore, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed on Tuesday that food inflation remained elevated at 17.52 per cent year-on-year, while the monthly food inflation rate accelerated to 3.75 per cent from 2.98% in May, driven by higher prices of key staples including fresh tomatoes, pepper, crayfish, beef, garri, yam tubers, cassava flour, cowpea and Irish potatoes. This points to the persistence of food supply challenges despite improvements in broader price stability.
Oyedele explained that the new framework, which will be published soon, will provide a more comprehensive assessment of the country’s economic performance by monitoring indicators including income levels, poverty reduction, inequality, job creation and other measures that directly affect the quality of life of Nigerians.
He explained that economic growth should not be considered successful if it fails to improve the wellbeing of the population, stressing that prosperity must become the central objective of policymaking.
“We need to move from talking only about GDP growth to asking whether Nigerians are actually becoming more prosperous. Growth is important, but what matters most is whether people have better jobs, higher incomes and improved living standards.
The government owes accountability to the Nigerian people”, he said.
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Oyedele said many countries that have achieved sustained economic progress have done so by adopting broader measures of prosperity beyond traditional macroeconomic statistics.
He argued that while Nigeria has made difficult but necessary policy decisions over the past 3 years, including fiscal and foreign exchange reforms, the next phase should concentrate on ensuring that the benefits of those reforms are widely shared across households and businesses.
The Finance Minsiter stressed the importance of improving productivity, expanding the country’s tax base without placing additional burdens on struggling businesses, and creating an environment that encourages private sector investment.
According to him, stronger institutions, better governance and improved policy consistency will be critical in delivering sustainable prosperity.
He said the government remains committed to implementing reforms that support economic expansion while protecting vulnerable groups through targeted interventions.
He noted that businesses also have a significant role to play by investing in productive sectors, creating employment opportunities and supporting innovation that can accelerate inclusive growth.
“Countries become prosperous when stability attracts investments. Investments drive productivity while productivity creates jobs. Jobs raises incomes and incomes improve the standard of living”, Oyedele said.
The proposed prosperity metrics are expected to provide policymakers, investors and development partners with a clearer picture of whether reforms are translating into higher incomes, lower poverty levels and broader economic opportunities.
