Tilewa Adebajo: Nigeria Has Replaced Subsidy With Debt, We Need Urgent Debt Management

Following the presentation of the N49.7 trillion budget for the 2025 fiscal year by President Bola Tinubu, the Chief Executive Officer of CFG Advisory, Tilewa Adebajo, has emphasised the urgent need for Nigeria to address its mounting debt crisis to ensure sustainable economic growth.

During an interview with ARISE NEWS on Friday, Adebajo noted that while the removal of the fuel subsidy was seen as a significant economic reform, it has been replaced by an equally daunting issue: unsustainable debt.

He acknowledged that while there have been signs of monetary stability, significant fiscal challenges persist.

He said, “We still have challenges on the fiscal side because the highest lined item on the budget is debt service. So the problem now is the fact that while we have resolved the subsidy problem, we have created another problem which is debt. Our debt has become unsustainable.

“We have debt of close to 150 trillion (naira) and we’ve seen now, 16 trillion (naira) a year, on debt service, which is 10 billion dollars. That was close to the same amount of the subsidies. So we have replaced subsidy with debt. So now that we’ve resolved the subsidy problem, we now need to resolve this debt problem so that we can now grow the economy on a sustainable basis. So this is really where we are right now.”

He warned that the country’s credit rating, currently at “Caa1”, reflects the severity of the fiscal situation and the need for urgent action.

Adebajo also highlighted the critical role of holistic economic reforms and ambitious growth targets.

“We need to have a holistic positivity. What is the benchmark for Nigeria’s growth? How far are we from that goal? If we don’t grow this economy at 8%, we haven’t started,” Adebajo stated.

“The government needs to sell down assets and raise 30-50 billion to pay down some of this debt,” he suggested.

Adebajo reiterated the importance of setting ambitious growth benchmarks, citing an 8% annual growth rate as a critical target for meaningful progress. Without addressing the debt crisis, he argued that Nigeria’s economy would struggle to achieve long-term stability and prosperity.

Melissa Enoch

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