HURIWA flays IMF’s contradictory claim of Nigeria’s economic reform working amidst rising poverty

Business

THE Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) hadls strongly disagreed with the conclusion reached by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that Nigeria’s economic reforms are working even though more than 60 percent of Nigerians have fallen into poverty.

“We find this conclusion not only contradictory but fundamentally detached from the realities facing millions of Nigerians. If economic reforms are genuinely working, how can the primary outcome be that a majority of citizens are becoming poorer, hungrier, and increasingly unable to meet their basic needs?,” HURIWA asked in a statement it issued on Thursday, June 11.

It stated that the “essence of any economic reform is to improve the welfare of the people. Economic policies are not designed merely to satisfy statistical indicators or impress international financial institutions. They are meant to create jobs, improve living standards, reduce poverty, increase purchasing power, and guarantee economic security for citizens.

“When an IMF report admits that over 63 percent of Nigerians are living in poverty, over 27 million people are facing food insecurity, inflation remains stubbornly high, and living conditions continue to deteriorate, then describing such outcomes as evidence that reforms are working amounts to a dangerous exercise in economic abstraction.”

It said: What exactly is the definition of successful reform if the ordinary Nigerian cannot afford food, transportation, healthcare, education, or shelter? By every practical measure known to citizens, what is currently being experienced is not economic reform but economic deformity? 

HURIWA acknowledged that governments sometimes undertake difficult policy choices to correct structural distortions. However, reforms that produce severe hardship without adequate social protection, measurable poverty reduction, or visible improvements in living standards cannot be celebrated as successful.

The IMF’s position appears to prioritize macroeconomic statistics over human realities. Economic growth figures and improved fiscal balances mean little to families struggling daily to survive. A growing economy that simultaneously produces more poor people cannot be presented as an unquestionable success.

“We therefore urge both the IMF and the Federal Government to stop measuring economic progress exclusively through technical indicators while ignoring the devastating social consequences of current policies.

“The true test of economic reform is the condition of the people. When poverty expands, hunger deepens, unemployment persists, and citizens lose hope, claims of success become difficult to justify”, it argued. 

Nigeria deserves economic policies that deliver prosperity, not merely impressive reports. Any reform that leaves the majority poorer than before requires urgent reassessment, not celebration, it said. 

It added that “The government must immediately prioritize policies that put citizens at the center of economic planning through targeted poverty reduction programmes, food security initiatives, employment generation, support for small businesses, and stronger social protection mechanisms.

“History will judge economic policies not by the praise they receive from international institutions but by the quality of life they provide for the people.”

A.I

June 11, 2026

Tags: HURIWA IMF