Rewane dismisses Tinubu’s 15% inflation target as mere aspiration
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Economist Bsimark Rewane has knocked President Bola Tinubu’s 15 per cent inflation benchmark for 2025 as unrealistic and a mere aspiration.
Tinubu said in his N49.7 trillion budget presentation at the National Assembly (NASS) on 18 December 2024 that inflation rate would decline from 34.60 per cent to 15 per cent in 2025 and repeated the claim in his New Year broadcast.
But Rewane, the Chief Executive of Financial Derivatives, argued on Channels Television on Thursday that a 15 per cent inflation target in 2025 is unrealistic and a mere aspiration, explaining that it can only decline to 27 or 25 per cent.
“Well, the target is an aspiration; the reality that we think is inflation could reduce from approximately 35 per cent to somewhere like 27 per cent or 25 per cent, but a 15 per cent rate on inflation is very bullish and aspirational, but we are free to have our aspirations,” he said.
“We deal in the world of reality, and in the world of reality, we see more of 27 per cent to 25 per cent. I would rather bet on that than bet on much more optimistic scenarios.”
When Tinubu was sworn in as President in May 2023, inflation rate was 22.41 per cent, according to figures published by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Inflation rate skyrocketed to 34.6 per cent in November 2024, more than 12 percentage points higher, which economic experts attribute to Tinubu’s twin policies of petrol subsidy removal and unification of foreign exchange (forex) rates.
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