By Correspondent in Abuja.
The Independent Media and Policy Initiative (IMPI), has urged Nigerian leaders to learn from years of poor resource management that caused repeated poverty even during times of oil boom.
The IMPI said this in a policy statement signed by its Chairman, Dr Omoniyi Akinsiju on Friday in Abuja.
The think-tank said Nigeria’s poverty crisis was not caused by lack of resources, but by successive governments’ failure to manage the resources prudently and sustainably.
The group said the country’s experience between 1980 and 2015 showed how poor policy choices and neglect of critical sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing entrenched widespread poverty and economic vulnerability.
The group said the oil boom years exposed Nigeria to what economists described as the “Dutch disease”.
“This is where a sudden rise in oil revenues led to exchange rate appreciation, reduced competitiveness of local industries, and neglect of non-oil exports.
The massive inflow of oil income created a false sense of prosperity, but it distorted the economy, diverted labour from agriculture, and weakened domestic production capacity,” it said.
The IMPI said the so-called “Nigerian disease,” a situation where rural workers abandoned farming for urban jobs that offered temporarily higher wages, further worsened poverty and food insecurity across the country.
It said that while government spending during the oil boom focused on large capital projects, most of them were uncompleted or unproductive, creating little employment and limited long-term benefit to citizens.
“The misallocation of resources in agriculture included uncompleted irrigation projects, over-mechanisation, and policies that favoured wealthy farmers over smallholders. These errors worsened inequality and reduced productivity.
Even when the economy experienced growth spurts, poverty remained high because successive administrations failed to provide social protection for vulnerable groups or establish a sustainable safety net.
“After the collapse of oil prices in 1982, the economy faced inflation, debt, and foreign exchange rationing.
“This exposed the fragility of the system and revealed how weak policies had hollowed out the productive sectors,” it added.
The IMPI said the persistence of poverty amid growth emphasised the gap between economic expansion and inclusive development, stressing the need for reforms that prioritise human capital and domestic productivity.
The organisation urged current and future governments to ensure that macroeconomic growth was matched with effective social investment, transparency, and policy consistency.
It said that only a deliberate effort to correct the structural distortions of the past would guarantee lasting prosperity for Nigerians.
The group reaffirmed its commitment to supporting policy reforms that promoted economic diversification, social protection, and responsible governance as foundations for sustainable development.
IMPI noted
Tinubu Administration’s Bouquet of Social Interventions includinh subsidised access to dialysis: One of the federal administration’s poverty reduction programmes is the approval of a subsidy to ease the burden of kidney dialysis for Nigerians by slashing the cost per session from ₦50,000 to ₦12,000.
The subsidy is already being implemented in federal hospitals across the six geopolitical zones.
Othwrs arw
agricultural loans and microfinance for farmers and small businesses: The federal government is to begin disbursing interest-free loans to smallholder farmers and micro-business owners across Nigeria before the end of 2025. The initiative is part of the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP) being implemented under the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.
The loans of up to ₦100,000 per beneficiary will be offered under FarmerMoni, a scheme designed to support small-scale farmers engaged in poultry, aquaculture, livestock rearing, and crop production.
Beneficiaries will also enjoy a six-month grace period before repayment begins, allowing them to acquire critical inputs such as fertilisers, veterinary drugs, and farm tools.
These are not grants but repayable loans designed to help Nigerians grow their businesses, join the formal financial system, and create jobs (Blessing, 2025).
Monthly Pension Increase is another. All retired federal employees under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) are to receive a N32,000 monthly pension increase.
The sum will be paid to each of them from a N758 billion bond approved by President Bola Tinubu for clearing all outstanding pension liabilities.
The President okayed the bond to ensure that the retirees also benefited from the National Minimum Wage Amendment Act 2024 and Consequential Adjustments.
The N32,000 is the baseline every retiree in the education and health sectors, as well as security and the Armed Forces on the CPS will earn monthly, irrespective of his or her accumulated savings (Chiejina, 2025).
Tertiary Institutions Staff Support Fund (TISSF): The federal government has launched an interest-free loan scheme to provide financial support and professional development for staff of tertiary institutions across Nigeria. The scheme is called the Tertiary Institutions Staff Support Fund (TISSF). It is described as a strategic platform to empower both academic and non-academic staff (Alausa, 2025).
Creative Economy Development Fund (CEDF): Nigeria’s federal government, through the Ministry of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, has officially launched Phase 2 of the CEDF, featuring a brand-new user-friendly interface that simplifies access to funding. Youth-led and creative businesses across Nigeria from video gaming, film, music, animation, fashion, publishing, visual arts, culinary arts, and tourism, can now apply for grants, loans, and equity investments up to $100,000 to scale their operations, innovate, and contribute to sustainable economic growth.
It focused on mature creative projects seeking $100,000 or more, with project incubation and acceleration activities underway, and disbursements expected to start from January 2026. The first phase laid the groundwork for IP-backed financing, opportunity awareness, and capacity building across creative sectors such as film, digital arts, and cultural tourism.
Scrapping of Telecom Levy: As part of engendering a low-cost telecommunication access, the Federal Government of Nigeria has scrapped the 5 per cent excise duty on telecom services. The levy, which was initially suspended and now removed, is set to ease the pressure of voice and data service costs on over 170 million Nigerian subscribers.
Increasing the Reach of the Home-Grown School Feeding Programme: The federal government has set a target of reaching 20 million children through the Home-Grown School Feeding Programme by 2026. It is described as both an educational investment and a national security strategy (Shaibu, 2025)
Five million New Beneficiaries of RHGEEP: The Federal Government is in the process of enrolling five million new beneficiaries under the third phase of its Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme, known as Renewed Hope GEEP (RHGEEP 3.0). The new phase, which was flagged off in Abuja, is designed to broaden financial inclusion and expand empowerment initiatives, particularly for women and youth, with a target of reaching five million Nigerians by 2027.
Innovation Development and Effectiveness in the Acquisition of Skills: The federal government has announced plans to train more than 30,000 youths under the second cohort of the Innovation Development and Effectiveness in the Acquisition of Skills (IDEAS) and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) initiative. The second phase of the project, which began on August 25, covered 36 skill areas. It is being implemented by the Federal Ministry of Education with funding from a World Bank-supported IDEAS project designed to strengthen Nigeria’s TVET system (Ikpefan, 2025).
Jobs for 20 million Nigerian Youths: The Federal Government has inaugurated a new national skills programme aimed at connecting 20 million young Nigerians to jobs, training, and entrepreneurship opportunities by 2030.
Cash Transfer for 15 million Nigerians: The government has revived its temporary cash transfer programme. This initiative aims to provide financial relief to 15 million vulnerable Nigerians and their families, helping them manage the rising living costs.
Digital Access and Livelihood Initiative (DALI): The Digital Access and Livelihood Initiative (DALI) is a demand-driven national talent pipeline designed to link foundational and work-readiness training directly to guaranteed jobs or enterprise pathways. The platform unifies government, private sector leaders, development partners, and the boundless energy of the nation’s youth under a single banner.
