In a statement on Thursday, the organisation commended the government for what it described as significant progress in revenue mobilisation and macroeconomic stabilisation, but said the gains must now be felt by households through lower food prices, better wages and stronger poverty reduction.

AERE said NRS tax collections had more than doubled from N12.3 trillion in 2023 to N27.1 trillion by July 2026, representing an increase of about 120 per cent.

It attributed the revenue improvement to the four tax reform laws, digitised collection, the restructuring of the revenue service and efforts to close tax evasion loopholes.

The organisation also noted that Nigeria’s debt-to-GDP ratio had declined from 38 per cent in 2023 to 35.5 per cent in 2025 and a projected 32.3 per cent in 2026. Gross external reserves, it said, had risen from $33.22 billion at the end of 2023 to about $51.9 billion by July 2026.

AERE said other improvements had been recorded in the balance of payments, oil production, trade, capital importation and the market capitalisation of the Nigerian Exchange.

However, it warned that the gains were yet to sufficiently improve household welfare. It cited National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data showing headline inflation at 15.91 per cent in June 2026, with food inflation higher at 17.52 per cent.

It also cited the World Bank’s April 2026 Nigeria Development Update, which estimated that the country’s poverty rate rose to 63 per cent in 2025, leaving about 140 million Nigerians below the poverty line.

“The baton must now pass from macro stabilisation to micro wellbeing: from reserves to stomachs, from ratios to rent, from trillion-naira headlines to the N18,000-a-month driver, the N70,000-a-month civil servant, and the 140 million Nigerians still waiting for the recovery to taste like something,” AERE said.

The group described the situation as a “two-speed economy”, noting that the N70,000 minimum wage was worth about $47 to $50 monthly at an exchange rate of N1,400 to N1,500 to the dollar, while urban households required between N349,000 and N513,000 monthly for basic needs.

It added that the challenge was worsened by the fact that more than 90 per cent of employment is informal, limiting the reach of minimum wage protections.

“Recovery is a relay race, not a photo finish,” the organisation said, urging the government to ensure that economic reforms deliver tangible benefits to households across the country.