A new World Bank report has revealed that Nigeria’s social safety-net programmes are failing to reach the poorest citizens despite the government spending billions of naira each year to reduce hardship.
The report, titled “The State of Social Safety Nets in Nigeria” and released in November 2025, shows that only 44 per cent of the benefits from government-funded welfare initiatives actually reach poor Nigerians.
According to the Bank, weak funding, poor targeting, and disjointed implementation have hindered the effectiveness of these programmes, leaving millions of vulnerable people without the relief promised by the government’s poverty reduction agenda.
