President Bola Tinubu has announced that the 2025 budget aims to reduce inflation from its current rate of 34.6% to 15% by next year. He made this statement while presenting the N47.9 trillion budget proposal to a joint session of the National Assembly on Wednesday.
The President also projected that the exchange rate would improve from approximately N1,700 per dollar to N1,500. He described the budget as “ambitious but necessary” to secure Nigeria’s future. Tinubu explained that the budget forecasts were based on several factors, including a reduction in petroleum product imports, increased export of finished petroleum products, a bumper harvest driven by enhanced security, and a reduced reliance on food imports.
The budget highlights key allocations, with N4.91 trillion dedicated to defense and security, N4.06 trillion for infrastructure, N2.4 trillion for health, and N3.5 trillion for education, among others.
These announcements come amid ongoing economic challenges in Nigeria, with inflation rates soaring and the exchange rate remaining volatile. On Monday, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported that Nigeria’s headline inflation rate had risen to 34.60% in November 2024, up from 33.88% in October. Food inflation, in particular, surged to 39.93%, marking a 7.08% increase compared to November 2023.
