President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has welcomed the World Bank’s October 2026 Nigeria Development Update, titled Beyond the Federal Purse: How Higher Revenues Reshaped State Priorities. He stated its findings verify that the administration’s financial reforms are delivering outcomes and putting the economic system on a firmer footing for sustained progress.
The President famous the World Bank’s discovering that the poverty charge has stabilised for the primary time since 2019. The Bank expects poverty to say no regularly as GDP grows sooner than the inhabitants.
The report reveals the economic system grew 4.2 per cent within the first half of 2026, up from 3.9 per cent within the first half of 2025, regardless of the influence of the battle within the Middle East. The World Bank initiatives progress to common a minimum of 4.4 per cent between 2026 and 2028.
On costs, the report notes that inflation fell from 27.6 per cent in January 2025 to fifteen.2 per cent in December 2025. Higher world gasoline costs linked to the Middle East battle have since slowed the decline, however the World Bank expects inflation to ease to about 12 per cent by 2028.
Nigeria’s exterior place additionally strengthened. The present account surplus rose to US$12.0 billion, or 7.0 per cent of GDP, within the first half of 2026, up from US$8.6 billion a yr earlier. Gross exterior reserves elevated from US$45.5 billion on the finish of 2025 to US$53.8 billion on the finish of August 2026.
The report credit the reforms since 2023 with elevating federation revenues by 69 per cent in actual phrases between 2023 and 2025, with states as the biggest beneficiaries. States used the extra assets to extend capital spending by 151 per cent in actual phrases over the identical interval. Most of the rise went to roads and different transport, agriculture, power and housing. Twenty-nine of 33 states shifted their spending in the direction of financial infrastructure, whereas actual social spending per individual rose in all however one state.
The World Bank additional discovered that:
• internally generated income grew in actual phrases in 31 of 35 states;
• 21 states diminished their debt-to-GDP ratio between 2021 and 2025;
• Nigeria’s general public debt is predicted to fall from 40.0 per cent of GDP in 2025 to 38.1 per cent in 2026.
“These findings verify that the troublesome however needed selections to take away the petrol subsidy, unify the overseas change market and strengthen fiscal self-discipline have raised revenues, stabilised the economic system and created fiscal house for each tier of presidency to spend money on its folks.
“The dividends of reform have gotten seen. But extra work stays to make sure they absolutely translate into higher dwelling requirements for each family, beginning with decrease meals costs and respectable jobs for our younger folks.
“Our administration will keep the course of reform and redouble its concentrate on inclusive progress beneath the Renewed Hope Agenda.
“We will proceed to develop focused money transfers, which have already reached greater than 10 million households. We will speed up the deployment of CNG, increase agricultural productiveness, and enhance entry to reasonably priced healthcare and high quality training, in order that the prosperity being created is shared by all.
“I urge state governments to make use of their larger revenues extra prudently and prioritise initiatives that enhance the dwelling requirements of Nigerians, and the well being and training of our folks.
“I commend the Economic Management Team led by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, state governors and all stakeholders for their cooperation in implementing these reforms. I assure Nigerians that the best is yet to come under the Renewed Hope Agenda 2.0, which will accelerate the delivery of shared prosperity for all Nigerians.”
Bayo Onanuga
Special Adviser to the President
(Information & Strategy)
October 11, 2026
