Nigeria, June 15 -- Surging inflation and rising prices pushed an estimated 7 million Nigerians below the poverty line in 2020 alone, the World Bank said on Tuesday.

In its Nigeria Development Update (NDU) released Tuesday, the Washington-based lender added that Nigeria's economic growth is being hindered by food inflation, heightened insecurity, unemployment and stalled reforms.

According to the update, persistent inflationary pressure is driven largely by accelerating food prices, while the nation's inflation rate rose steadily throughout 2020 and reached a four-year high in March 2021.

Lead economist for Nigeria and co-author of the report, Marco Hernandez, explained that inflation, especially in food prices, was exacerbating povert...