LAGOS, Nigeria — Nigeria’s Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, announced on Thursday, July 16, 2026, that the federal government plans to publish indicators tracking poverty, incomes, and inequality to assess the impact of economic reforms on the living standards of citizens.
Okay News reports that Taiwo Oyedele disclosed the plans during a conference organized by BusinessDay newspaper in Lagos. The minister stated that the government would assess “shared prosperity” using three distinct measures, which include reductions in multidimensional poverty, increases in real income per capita, and lower inequality.
According to the minister, the initiative aims to address criticisms of the reform programme. Critics have suggested that gains in revenue, foreign exchange liquidity, and investor confidence have not yet translated into relief for households facing high food, transport, and living costs.
The government is attempting to show that reforms introduced in 2023, which included ending a fuel subsidy and liberalizing the naira, are translating into broader benefits for citizens. The International Monetary Fund stated in June 2026 that while the reforms improved investor confidence and economic stability, 63% of the Nigerian populace remained in poverty and millions faced food insecurity.
Taiwo Oyedele stated that inflation was easing, the foreign exchange market was functioning more efficiently, and investor interest was returning, but he acknowledged that macroeconomic stability alone would not be enough.
“A stable economy can still be a stagnant one if we become complacent,” he said.
Nigeria’s Ministry of Finance will be responsible for producing the scorecard. No timeline was provided for publishing the indicators, and the minister did not specify how frequently the data would be updated.
