- The FG has launched the OHOPRS programme to lift 50 million Nigerians out of poverty
- The plan is for 2030 through a unified national system and a total of N16 trillion budgeted
- The initiative will be executed through development partners, the private sector, and climate funds
Legit.ng journalist Dave Ibemere has experience in business journalism, with in-depth knowledge of the Nigerian economy, the stock market, and broader market trends.
The federal government has unveiled a new national framework aimed at lifting 50 million Nigerians out of poverty by 2030.
The initiative, tagged One Humanitarian, One Poverty Response System (OHOPRS), was formally launched on Tuesday, March 24, with authorities outlining a financing plan of N16 trillion for the 2026–2030 period.
Photo: Bloomberg
Source: Getty Images
The government said the OHOPRS is part of efforts to tackle widespread deprivation and improve coordination across social intervention programmes.
N16 trillion earmarked to lift Nigerians out of poverty
Tribune reports that the government said the programme will mobilise about N3.2 trillion annually from multiple sources, including N1.5 trillion from the government, N800 billion from development partners, N600 billion from the private sector and impact investors, and N300 billion from climate and global funds.
The government said contributions are expected from institutions such as the World Bank, the European Union, the United Nations, bilateral donors, and philanthropic foundations.
Also, authorities plan to establish a National Humanitarian and Poverty Reduction Trust Fund, leveraging blended financing instruments such as climate funding, social impact bonds, private investments, Islamic finance tools, including zakat, sukuk and waqf and carbon credits.
Speaking at the launch, Bernard Dor, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, said the initiative seeks to address gaps in existing interventions by introducing a coordinated, data-driven and people-focused system.
He said:
“We have been managing poverty, not ending it, and it is time for a change.”
He noted that over 63% of Nigerians live in multidimensional poverty amid fragmented efforts across ministries, departments and agencies.
Doro also revealed that the system would integrate humanitarian relief, long-term development and social protection, while aligning stakeholders under a single national framework driven by real-time digital accountability.
He said President Bola Tinubu had directed the full alignment of all poverty reduction efforts under the unified system, with a target of lifting millions out of poverty within five years.
Photo: Bloomberg
Source: Facebook
Social support expected to help Nigerians
United Nations Resident Coordinator in Nigeria, Mohamed Fall, was represented by UNDP Country Representative Elsie Attafuah, who described poverty in Nigeria as a humanitarian crisis requiring urgent and coordinated action, the Nation reports.
He said:
“With about 62% of Nigerians living in poverty and 33 million facing acute food insecurity, there is a need for a system that integrates humanitarian response, social protection and economic inclusion.”
Fall added that the initiative offers an opportunity not just to increase spending, but to improve the effectiveness of resource allocation and achieve measurable outcomes.
Also speaking, Statistician-General of the Federation and CEO of the National Bureau of Statistics, Adeyemi Adeniran, said no single institution could address the complexity of poverty alone, stressing the need for collaboration among government, development partners, civil society and the private sector.
He noted that about 133 million Nigerians are multidimensionally poor, citing data from the bureau, and emphasised the importance of high-quality data for targeting and transparency.
PwC projects 141 million Nigerians will be poor in 2026
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that at least 141 million Nigerians are expected to be living in poverty by 2026, according to PwC’s Nigeria Economic Outlook 2026.
The report titled turning macroeconomic stability into sustainable growth, cited deepening social pressure despite recent policy efforts to stabilise the economy.
PwC projects that poverty will rise to about 62% of the population in the year preceding the 2027 general elections, driven by weak real income growth and persistently high living costs.
Source: Legit.ng
