Poverty has been a long standing issue in Nigeria. This fact is buttressed by the fact historically, low social indicators highlighting poor living conditions have ousted for decades. Economic recession affect both urban and rural poor people’s effort to secure elements of basic livelihood, including the opportunity to earn an income and meet basic human needs, maintain health, and obtain a basic education. The global economic recession also poses risks to the governments and their development projects like water supply, food security, human health and natural resource management, which affect the income vulnerabilities of communities.This study is focused on the trend of poverty in Nigeria, over the past two decades or three decades and an assessment of how economic policies have impacted it.