The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has urged the Nigerian government to expand targeted cash transfers and temporary income support for vulnerable households as rising food and energy costs deepen pressure on living standards.
The Fund also called for improved revenue collection and better public spending to protect vulnerable citizens while maintaining fiscal stability.
Deniz Igan, Division Chief in the IMF’s Research Department, gave the recommendations during a press briefing on the October 2026 World Economic Outlook, titled Resilience Under Strain, Urgent Choices, held on Tuesday, October 13, during the IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings in Bangkok, Thailand.
Igan said Nigeria’s experience showed why economic growth alone was not enough to shield citizens from hardship, particularly when essential goods became more expensive.
“Maybe Nigeria is a good example—while the growth held up in Nigeria, given it is an energy exporter, poverty rates are still very high, and we are very mindful that the population is suffering when it comes to especially food security, with also risks from El Niño,” she said.
Pinnacle Daily reports that El Niño is a climate pattern that can disrupt rainfall and agricultural production, potentially worsening food supply pressures.
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The IMF’s recommendation comes as governments across the world face the challenge of protecting households from rising living costs without worsening public finances.
Igan said the Fund favoured direct support for vulnerable households rather than measures that could place additional pressure on government finances without adequately reaching those who need assistance.
“In that environment, what we’re advocating for is cash transfers and income support—targeted, temporary income support for the most vulnerable households,” she said.
She added that Nigeria could use cash transfers to ease poverty and strengthen food security, but such measures should be aligned with the country’s medium-term fiscal framework, which sets out how the government intends to manage revenue, spending and borrowing over time.
“And that needs to be coupled with—you know, aligned with the medium-term fiscal framework. And there, what that involves is improving expenditure quality and improving revenue collection. Let me stop there,” Igan said.
The IMF’s position highlights the challenge facing Nigeria: maintaining economic stability while ensuring that the burden of adjustment does not fall disproportionately on low-income households.
During the briefing, the Fund also warned that the global economy remained vulnerable to rising commodity prices, particularly energy, as renewed tensions in the Middle East pushed up crude oil, gas and refined petroleum product prices.
For Nigeria, higher oil prices may support export earnings, but they do not automatically translate into improved living conditions for households facing high food costs and poverty.
The Fund said governments should balance immediate needs, including food and energy security, with policies that preserve medium-term economic stability.
The briefing formed part of the launch of the IMF’s latest World Economic Outlook, which warned that global economic resilience was coming under increasing strain from geopolitical tensions, commodity-price shocks, higher borrowing costs and uncertainty surrounding the artificial intelligence boom.
Alex is a business journalist cum data enthusiast with the Pinnacle Daily. He can be reached via ealex@thepinnacleng.com, @ehime_alex on X