Claim: Today, over 140 million Nigerians live in multidimensional poverty.
Source: Peter Gregory Obi
Verdict: Uproven
Researched by Lara Zofio
Peter Gregory Obi, former governor of Nigeria’s Anambra State and the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate in 2023, recently attended the inaugural National Convention of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, after he joined the political party.
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On May 9, 2026 on his X (former Twitter) account, he shared a post with remarks about the NDC convention, while highlighting current challenges afflicting Nigeria and its democracy under the Bola Ahmed Tinubu government.
Obi claimed in his post that: “today, over 140 million Nigerians live in multidimensional poverty”. This report will verify the accuracy of the claim.
Fact-check
What is multidimensional poverty?
Multidimensional poverty is a concept developed by the Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative (OPHI), which explains that poverty should not be understood only as a lack of income, but as a broader set of overlapping deprivations.
The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) defines multidimensional poverty as the many overlapping deprivations that poor people experience beyond just low income. These include deprivations such as poor health, lack of education, and limited access to basic services (water, sanitation, electricity), among others.
Figures on poverty in Nigeria
To verify Peter Obi’s claim that “over 140 million Nigerians live in multidimensional poverty,” we reviewed the most recently available data from the UNDP’s Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI 2025). However, the Nigeria-specific figures in this dataset are based on 2021 data. We also examined World Bank estimates, but these were similarly based on 2022 data.
In addition, the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics has published what it describes as its “most extensive national measure of multidimensional poverty to date,” which estimates that 63% of the population — about 133 million people — were multidimensionally poor in 2022.
However, neither these institutions nor other major data sources currently provide more recent, updated figures on multidimensional poverty in Nigeria.
World Bank’s April 2026 Nigeria Development Update
The World Bank recently published its latest Nigeria economic report, the Nigeria Development Update, which includes updated poverty estimates for the country, not multidimensional poverty.
The report defines poverty using the national poverty line, constructed from “a selected basket of essential food and non-food goods and services that reflect the average needs to maintain a minimum daily energy requirement.”
According to this measure, 63% of Nigeria’s population is projected to be poor in 2026. Based on a current population estimate of 242,109,975, this would amount to over 153 million poor Nigerians.
Moreover, PwC’s 2026 Nigeria Economic Outlook projects that poverty “will rise to 62%, or about 141 million people, by 2026.” However, again this figure does not refer to multidimensional poverty. Instead, the estimate is based on straight-line projections using data from the Nigerian Living Standards Survey (NLSS) 2018/19 and 2022/23.
Below is a table summarising all available poverty figures for Nigeria since 2021:
| Year | Population in poverty | Type of poverty | Source | |
| 2021 | 72million (33%) | Multidimensional poverty | Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative (OPHI) | |
| 2022 | 105million (47%) | Multidimensional poverty | World Bank | |
| 2022 | 133 million (63%) | Multidimensional poverty | National Bureau of Statistics | |
| 2023 | 128million (56%) | Only poverty | World Bank | |
| 2023 | 128million (56%) | Only poverty | PwC | |
| 2024 | 142million (61%) | Only poverty | World Bank | |
| 2024 | 137million (59%) | Only poverty | PwC | |
| 2025 | 150million (63%) | Only poverty | World Bank | |
| 2025 | 145million (61%) | Only poverty | PwC | |
| 2026 | 153million(63%) | Only poverty | World Bank | |
| 2026 | 141million (62%) | Only poverty | PwC | |
Oxfam Novib Nigeria manager speaks
Although there is no recent multidimensional poverty data for Nigeria in 2025 or 2026, poverty estimates from the World Bank and PwC may serve as a useful proxy to confirm whether “140 million Nigerians live in multidimensional poverty”, as confirmed by Henry Ushie, Programme Manager at Oxfam Novib Nigeria, who noted that “the figure could be true.”
According to Ushie, rising inflation and the increasing cost of living over recent years have pushed many households from the upper-middle and middle-income brackets closer to, or below, the poverty line. As prices of essential goods and services have increased, many people have struggled to maintain their previous living standards across multiple dimensions of well-being.
This trend supports the argument that the millions of Nigerians identified as poor by the World Bank and PwC may also be experiencing forms of multidimensional poverty. While income-based poverty and multidimensional poverty are distinct measures, the deterioration in living conditions described by Ushie suggests a substantial overlap between the two.
Available poverty estimates suggest that more than 140 million people in Nigeria are poor. However, up-to-date data on multidimensional poverty for 2026 is not currently available. FactSpace West Africa reached out to Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) to obtain the latest available figures on multidimensional poverty. As of the publication of this article, no response had been received.
Verdict:
The claim is therefore rated unproven, which according to FactSpace rating means ‘evidence publicly available at this time neither proves nor disproves the statement. More research is needed.’
