EMT Moves to Harmonise Economic Assumptions, Targets Stronger Growth Across Key Sectors
By Pan Afric Reporters
The Economic Management Team (EMT) of the Federal Government has approved the establishment of an inter-agency committee to harmonise the macroeconomic assumptions guiding Nigeria’s budgeting, fiscal policy and economic planning.
The decision was contained in a press release issued by the Secretariat of the Economic Management Team, Federal Ministry of Finance, Abuja, following the EMT’s meeting in Abuja on Monday, September 7, 2026.
The new committee will harmonise key assumptions, including crude oil prices and production volumes, exchange rates, inflation and non-oil revenue projections used by fiscal and monetary authorities. It will also address inconsistencies in the reporting of economic indicators within government and to the public.
The EMT said the move followed a joint budget retreat and technical validation workshop which identified inconsistent assumptions among government agencies as one of the factors contributing to budget under-performance.
Reviewing the state of the economy, the Team noted that real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rose to 4.43 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2026, the strongest quarterly performance since the third quarter of 2024. It also noted that external reserves had risen above US$54 billion, while the naira strengthened to the N1,300s per US dollar range in early September.
The Team further welcomed Nigeria’s reclassification by FTSE Russell from “Unclassified” to “Frontier Market” status, effective September 21, 2026, describing the development as a boost to the visibility of Nigerian equities among international investors.
According to the EMT, public debt remains below 40 per cent of GDP, while Nigeria’s sovereign credit outlook by Moody’s has improved from stable to positive. It also noted that the economy’s purchasing-power-parity value of more than US$2.2 trillion underscores its potential to achieve the government’s ambition of a US$1 trillion nominal GDP by 2030.
To strengthen economic governance, the EMT approved a revised Terms of Reference expanding its mandate to include macroeconomic performance reviews, stronger fiscal-monetary coordination, monitoring of Renewed Hope Agenda priorities and periodic assessment of Federal Government financing needs.
The Team also approved a monthly meeting schedule, with at least two strategic sector reviews expected at each sitting, while the Ministry of Finance was designated coordinating custodian for national economic data.
On agriculture, the EMT reviewed measures aimed at increasing the sector’s contribution to the US$1 trillion economy ambition, including reducing post-harvest losses, expanding processing and mechanisation, improving export compliance and ensuring timely release of capital ahead of planting seasons.
It also considered plans to recapitalise the Bank of Agriculture and establish a new smallholder credit window, alongside a target of increasing agriculture’s share of private-sector credit to 10 per cent by 2030.
The EMT equally reviewed Nigeria’s preparations to host the Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) in November 2026 and the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) in November 2027, both in Lagos, with the Ministry of Finance tasked with coordinating funding and customs facilitation in collaboration with the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment.
Commenting on the decisions, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy said the measures would strengthen the credibility of Nigeria’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,” the Minister said.
