The World Bank has predicted that by the end of 2022, the number of extremely poor people in Nigeria will hit the 95.1 million mark, with an estimated 5 million additional people slipping below the poverty line.

The Washington-based World Bank which made this damning prediction in its poverty assessment report entitled ‘A Better Future for All Nigerians: 2022 Nigeria Poverty Assessment,’ on Wednesday, said despite repeated promises by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government of lifting millions of Nigerians out of poverty, the indices suggest otherwise.

On several occasions, President Buhari and members of his team have claimed that his government has lifted millions of Nigerians out of poverty, with a projection that by 2023, as many as 100 million Nigerians would have been lifted out of poverty.

But the World Bank report states otherwise as it painted a bleak future for Nigeria’s poor.

Blaming most of the problems that has continued to deepen the country’s economy crisis on unfavourable policies of the government, hich include multiple exchange rates, the country’s trade restrictions, bans on certain goods and the 2019 border closure.

“Such policies have immediate negative effects on poverty reduction through the price channel, as trade restrictions can make the goods that poor households consume, especially food items, more expensive, reducing people’s purchasing power and welfare in turn,” the report said.

“Between 2000 and 2014, Nigeria enjoyed a period of sustained expansion, during which the economy grew by around 7 percent per year, outstripping the estimated annual population growth rate of 2.6 percent.

“But real GDP growth dropped to 2.7 percent in 2015, then 1.6 percent in 2016, as the decline in global oil prices induced Nigeria’s first recession in almost two decades.

“Growth has not recovered subsequently. It lies below population growth and the growth performance of peer countries over the same period. This weakening overall growth performance makes it significantly harder to reduce poverty.”

The bank, however, suggested a way out for the country in the report. It encouraged the strengthening of Nigeria’s social protection system as that will strengthen public trust in governance, develop administrative reach, and boost resilience in the people as that will be crucial for the country’s future.