The Managing Director of Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Bismarck Rewane, has faulted President Bola Tinubu’s 15% inflation target for 2025 as “aspirational” and “bullish”.

The expert however projected that inflation could reduce from approximately 35% to somewhere like 27% or 25% instead.

He gave his projection on Channels Television’s Business Morning segment of the Sunrise Daily breakfast programme on Thursday.

Ripples Nigeria reports that during the 2025 ₦49.7tn budget presentation before the National Assembly on December 18, 2024, Tinubu expressed optimism that Nigeria’s inflation rate would decline from 34.6% to 15% in 2025.

Reacting, Rewane said the President’s target isn’t realistic. “Well, the target is an aspiration; the reality that we think is inflation could reduce from approximately 35% to somewhere like 27% or 25% but a 15% rate on inflation is very bullish and aspirational but we are free to have our aspirations.

READ ALSO: CPPE projects slight moderation in inflation rate in 2025

“We deal in the world of reality and in the world of reality, we see more of 27% to 25%. I would rather bet on that than bet on much more optimistic scenarios,” he said.

When Tinubu was sworn in as Nigeria’s president in May 2023, Nigeria’s inflation rate was 22.41%, according to official numbers by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The inflation rate rose astronomically to 34.6% in November 2024, more than 12% higher, a development that economic wizards have attributed to Tinubu’s twin policies of petrol subsidy removal and unification of the forex rates.

By Babajide Okeowo

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