By Ayo Kehinde
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has urged the Nigerian government to provide targeted and temporary cash transfers to vulnerable households to cushion the impact of rising food and energy prices and tackle persistent poverty.
Deniz Igan, Chief of the World Economic Studies Division in the IMF’s Research Department, gave the recommendation while responding to questions on Nigeria during the presentation of the World Economic Outlook at the ongoing IMF and World Bank Group Annual Meetings in Bangkok, Thailand.
Igan noted that although Nigeria’s economic growth had remained relatively resilient, partly because of its status as an energy exporter, high poverty levels continued to pose a significant challenge.
She said policymakers needed to balance immediate concerns about inflation and the rising cost of living with the need to maintain medium-term economic stability.
According to Igan, increases in the prices of essential commodities, particularly food and energy, place a disproportionate burden on low-income households, making targeted government support necessary.
She explained that temporary income support through cash transfers could help vulnerable Nigerians meet basic needs, alleviate poverty and strengthen food security.
The IMF official stressed that Nigeria’s relative economic resilience had not eliminated the hardships experienced by many households, which continue to contend with poverty, insecurity and other socioeconomic challenges.
Targeted cash transfers, she indicated, could provide immediate relief to households struggling to afford essential goods without requiring broad-based interventions that may be less effective at directing assistance to those who need it most.
The recommendation comes amid persistent concerns about the cost of living and the impact of higher food and energy prices on household purchasing power.
Igan cautioned, however, that measures designed to cushion the immediate impact of rising prices must remain consistent with Nigeria’s medium-term fiscal framework.
She said the government would need to improve the quality of public expenditure and strengthen revenue collection to ensure that social support programmes remained affordable and public finances sustainable.
According to her, the IMF’s recommendations draw on its analysis of fiscal policy responses that can most effectively address cost-of-living pressures, particularly when essential goods become more expensive than other items in the consumer basket.
She emphasised that policymakers must protect vulnerable households from immediate economic shocks without undermining the government’s capacity to maintain fiscal stability over the medium term.
For Nigeria, this places the focus on ensuring that limited public resources reach households facing the greatest hardship while improving the efficiency of government spending.
The IMF’s position highlights the need to combine immediate social protection with stronger public financial management, so that assistance can cushion vulnerable Nigerians against rising living costs without creating unsustainable fiscal pressures.
