IMF Raises Nigeria’s Growth Forecast to 4.2%, Warns of Food Insecurity

What changed

The IMF raised Nigeria’s growth forecast to 4.2%, citing improved macroeconomic stability and favourable terms-of-trade effects.

But it paired the brighter growth outlook with a darker warning: higher prices for essential goods could deepen poverty and food insecurity.

Why it matters

Nigeria may be expanding while many households feel poorer. Growth can improve the headline economy, but expensive essentials hit families immediately, especially when food already takes up much of the household budget.

That makes the IMF’s message deliberately split-screen. Nigeria’s wider economic stability appears to be improving, yet the benefits may not reach households evenly. If essential-goods prices keep rising, stronger growth could coexist with worsening hardship.

The scale and timing of that deterioration are not specified. The important point is the tension itself: 4.2% growth is encouraging, but it does not by itself mean Nigerian families will have more to spend or easier access to food.