Market News

By Isaac Anyaogu (Reuters)

LAGOS, July 16 (Reuters) — Nigeria plans to publish indicators tracking poverty, incomes and inequality as President Bola Tinubu's government seeks to demonstrate that its economic reforms are improving living standards.

The proposed scorecard is intended to address criticism that gains in government revenue, foreign exchange liquidity and investor confidence have not yet translated into meaningful improvements for households facing high food, transport and living costs.

Speaking at a BusinessDay conference in Lagos, Taiwo Oyedele said the government would measure 'shared prosperity' using three indicators: reductions in multidimensional poverty, increases in real income per capita and lower income inequality.

The reforms introduced in 2023, including the removal of the fuel subsidy and the liberalisation of the naira, have been praised by investors and international lenders but have also contributed to higher inflation and living costs.

The International Monetary Fund said in June that while the reforms have strengthened economic stability and investor confidence, around 63% of Nigeria's 200 million people remain in poverty and millions continue to face food insecurity.

The reform programme has also attracted criticism over corruption and allegations of unbudgeted government spending, raising concerns about fiscal discipline.

Oyedele said inflation was easing, the foreign exchange market was functioning more efficiently and investor confidence was returning, but stressed that macroeconomic stability alone was not enough.

'A stable economy can still be a stagnant one if we become complacent,' he said.

He added that the Ministry of Finance would produce the scorecard but did not specify when it would be published or how often it would be updated.

Reporting by Isaac Anyaogu; Editing by Sharon Singleton.