A $13 Billion Challenge Awaits Nigeria’s President-Elect
- Tinubu must address rising debt that consumes 80% of revenue
- Risk of social unrest on removal of costly fuel subsidies
Photographer Kola Sulaimon/AFP/Getty Images
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Bola Tinubu won’t have much time to celebrate his victory in Nigeria’s presidential election.
Africa’s biggest economy is facing a deepening fiscal crisis, acute shortages of domestic and foreign currency, and widespread insecurity. The government’s ability to deal with those issues is being undermined by a gasoline subsidy that will drain 6 trillion naira ($13 billion) from state finances this year — about two-thirds of the revenue expected to be generated by oil and gas output.