Titus Okunrounmu, a former director at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has advised President Bola Tinubu’s government to strategically reduce the cost of governance in 2025.

In an interview with journalists on Monday in Ota, Ogun, Mr Okunrounmu noted that the high cost of governance had led to increased recurrent expenditures.

The former director of research at the CBN said debt servicing by the federal government had consequently increased from N9.8 trillion in 2023 to N12.1 trillion in 2024.

He said the federal government should only borrow for capital expenditure to facilitate repayment through proceeds from the
projects.

Mr Okunrounmu also commended the resuscitation of the Port Harcourt refinery, which has commenced producing fuel and other products.

“This will help the federal government to stop exporting crude oil for importation of refined products into the country.

“In addition, the country would be able to export refined petrol products to West African countries, thus generating more revenue,” he said.

The ex-CBN director advised Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited on regular maintenance of the refineries to ensure optimal capacity production and service delivery.

(NAN)