Tinubu bets on Dangote fuel exports in ‘ambitious’ 2025 budget
President Bola Tinubu has said the projections in the ‘ambitious’ 2025 budget are partly based on reduced importation of petroleum products alongside increased export of finished petroleum products.
Nigeria, which had relied heavily on imports to meet its fuel needs for years, has seen rising exports of petroleum products including diesel and petrol since Dangote refinery started production in 2024.
“The numbers for our 2025 budget proposal tell a bold and exciting story of the direction we are taking to retool and revamp the socio-economic fabric of our society,” Tinubu told lawmakers during the budget presentation on Wednesday.
His government is targeting N34.82 trillion in revenue to fund the budget, with expenditure projected to be N47.90 trillion, including N15.81 trillion for debt servicing.
The projected budget deficit of N13.08 trillion represents 3.89 percent of the country’s GDP.
“This is an ambitious but necessary budget to secure our future,” Tinubu said.
The government projects that inflation will decline from the current rate of 34.6 percent to 15 percent next year, while the exchange rate will improve from about N1,700 per US dollar to N1,500/$. It expects crude oil production to average 2.06 million barrels per day.
The projections are also based on “bumper harvests, driven by enhanced security, reducing reliance on food imports; increased foreign exchange inflows through foreign portfolio investments; and higher crude oil output and exports, coupled with a substantial reduction in upstream oil and gas production costs”, the president said.
