By Gloria Ikibah
The Federal Government has moved to harmonise its economic projections after the Economic Management Team (EMT) approved the establishment of an inter-agency committee to align the key assumptions guiding the nation’s budget and economic planning.
The decision was taken on Monday in Abuja at the latest meeting of the EMT, the Federal Government’s principal platform for economic management and coordination.
The new committee will harmonise projections covering crude oil prices and production, exchange rates, inflation and non-oil revenue used by fiscal and monetary authorities.
The move followed a joint budget retreat and a technical validation workshop which identified inconsistent assumptions among government agencies as one of the factors contributing to budget under-performance.
The committee will also address inconsistencies in the way major economic indicators are reported by government agencies to external stakeholders and the public.
The EMT also reviewed developments across the economy, including agriculture, trade and investment, manufacturing and Nigeria’s preparations to host major continental trade events.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigeria’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 4.43 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2026, representing the strongest quarterly growth since the third quarter of 2024.
The meeting was also informed that the nation’s external reserves had risen above $54 billion in early September, the highest level in nearly 18 years, according to data of Central Bank of Nigeria.
The naira has also strengthened, trading in the N1,300s to the US dollar in early September, alongside the increase in foreign reserves.
The EMT noted that FTSE Russell had reclassified Nigeria from “Unclassified” to “Frontier Market” status, with the new classification scheduled to take effect from the market opening on September 21, 2026.
The reclassification marks Nigeria’s return to the index after about three years and is expected to improve the visibility of Nigerian equities among international investors.
The team was further briefed that public debt remained below 40 per cent of GDP, while Nigeria’s sovereign credit outlook from Moody’s had moved from stable to positive.
It also noted the disparity between Nigeria’s nominal dollar GDP and its purchasing-power-parity (PPP) economy, which is estimated at more than $2.2 trillion.
The EMT said the figure demonstrated the potential for Nigeria to achieve a $1 trillion nominal economy by 2030.
EMT Strengthens Coordination
The team approved a revised Terms of Reference that expands its responsibilities to include macroeconomic performance reviews, stronger fiscal and monetary coordination, monitoring of priorities under the Renewed Hope Agenda and periodic assessment of the Federal Government’s financing needs.
Under the new arrangement, the EMT will meet monthly, with at least two strategic sector reviews to be conducted at each sitting.
The Ministry of Finance was also designated as the coordinating custodian for national economic data as part of efforts to improve the reliability and consistency of official statistics.
Line ministries and agencies will remain responsible for their respective datasets, which will serve as inputs into coordinated public releases.
Agriculture Gets Fresh Push
The EMT also examined measures aimed at increasing agriculture’s contribution to the government’s ambition of building a $1 trillion economy by 2030.
The strategy includes reducing post-harvest losses, expanding processing and mechanisation, improving export compliance and ensuring that capital releases are made early enough ahead of planting seasons.
The team also reviewed financing options for agriculture, including the planned recapitalisation of the Bank of Agriculture and the introduction of a new credit window for smallholder farmers.
Government is targeting an increase in agriculture’s share of private-sector credit to 10 per cent by 2030.
Nigeria Prepares for CANEX, IATF
The EMT further reviewed preparations for Nigeria to host the Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) in November 2026 and the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) in November 2027, both in Lagos.
The events are expected to attract exhibitors, international buyers and, in the case of IATF, African heads of state, with organisers projecting significant trade and investment opportunities.
The Ministry of Finance was directed to coordinate funding and customs facilitation for the events in collaboration with the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment.
The two ministries are expected to produce a consolidated action plan with clearly assigned responsibilities for the participating ministries.
Speaking on the decisions reached at the meeting, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, said the new measures will improve the credibility of government’s economic planning.
“Today’s decisions tighten the link between the numbers we plan with and the actual outturns. A single, harmonised set of assumptions across the fiscal and monetary authorities means fewer surprises in the budget and more credible planning for investors and all Nigerians,” he said.
The EMT said the measures were part of broader efforts to improve economic coordination, strengthen investor confidence and accelerate growth in strategic sectors of the Nigerian economy.
