The Federal Government has launched the National Poverty Intelligence Lab (NPIL), a data-driven platform aimed at improving the targeting, monitoring and evaluation of poverty reduction programmes across Nigeria.
The initiative, unveiled on Wednesday by the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr Bernard Doro, is expected to serve as the central intelligence and evidence hub for government interventions designed to tackle poverty affecting an estimated 140 million Nigerians.
Speaking at the opening of a three-day workshop on the operationalisation of the lab in Abuja, Doro said Nigeria’s battle against poverty requires a shift from fragmented and assumption-based interventions to policies guided by data, evidence and accountability.
He described the scale of poverty in the country as alarming but surmountable, stressing that effective systems and coordinated action were essential to achieving meaningful results.
“Recent estimates indicate that approximately 140 million Nigerians live below the poverty line. The scale and depth of the challenge is staggering, but it is surmountable,” the minister said.
“What this moment demands is not more of the same. It demands systems, intelligence, evidence-driven leadership and, above all, coordinated and accountable action.”
The workshop was organised by the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction in collaboration with Innovations for Poverty Action.
Doro said the National Poverty Intelligence Lab would function as the “intelligence backbone” of Nigeria’s poverty reduction framework by providing analytical support for policy formulation, programme implementation, resource allocation and performance evaluation.
According to him, previous interventions were often driven by assumptions, politics and isolated efforts rather than reliable evidence and coordinated systems.
“The NPIL changes that. It gives us the analytical infrastructure to ask the right questions, find credible answers and hold ourselves accountable for results,” he said.
The minister explained that the platform would support the implementation of the One Humanitarian One Poverty Response System (OHOPRS), a framework developed to integrate humanitarian assistance, social protection initiatives and poverty reduction programmes under a unified structure.
He said the framework aims to ensure that vulnerable households receive coordinated support capable of permanently lifting them out of poverty.
“Every household we reach through OHOPRS is a household we intend to graduate from vulnerability—not just today but permanently. That is the ambition. And the NPIL is the engine that will tell us whether we are getting there,” Doro added.
He described the establishment of the lab as not only a technological innovation but also a major governance and accountability reform designed to improve transparency and effectiveness in poverty reduction efforts.
The minister further reaffirmed the commitment of President Bola Tinubu’s administration to implementing sustainable policies aimed at improving the welfare of Nigerians.
Also speaking, the Country Representative of Innovations for Poverty Action, Mrs Fumi Ayeni, said the partnership would help policymakers better understand the needs of poor and vulnerable populations while reducing duplication in intervention programmes.
She noted that the collaboration would support the design and implementation of more effective poverty reduction strategies.
“Getting people out of poverty starts with everybody. This collaboration will help policymakers build a legacy that can significantly reduce poverty in Nigeria,” Ayeni said.
The Senior Technical Adviser to the Minister on Information Systems and Data Analysis, Dr Abimbola Fasanu, emphasised the importance of reliable data in policymaking, describing it as a strategic national asset.
According to her, the initiative will enable government agencies and development partners to make informed decisions and assess the impact of interventions more accurately.
Fasanu added that the ministry’s ongoing Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning and Data Systems Diagnostic Exercise would identify institutional strengths, expose gaps and provide a roadmap for developing an integrated national evidence system.
Nigeria has continued to struggle with high poverty levels despite several intervention programmes introduced by successive administrations, including the National Poverty Eradication Programme, Conditional Cash Transfer schemes, the National Social Investment Programme and N-Power.
However, concerns over poor coordination, weak monitoring systems, inadequate data and challenges in identifying beneficiaries have continued to raise questions about the effectiveness of many poverty alleviation initiatives.
The launch of the National Poverty Intelligence Lab comes amid growing pressure on the government to address rising inflation, unemployment and the increasing cost of living affecting millions of Nigerians.
Officials say the platform will help bridge longstanding data gaps and ensure that poverty reduction policies are driven by credible evidence, measurable outcomes and real-time intelligence.
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