FG Sets Up Standing Committee to Validate Data and Assumptions for 2027 Budget
The Federal Ministry of Finance and the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning have moved to anchor Nigeria’s budgeting and economic management on credible data and realistic assumptions.
The two ministries convened a Macroeconomic Data and Assumptions Validation Workshop on Friday, August 29, 2026, with key fiscal and monetary data institutions across government.
A review of previous budget cycles showed significant gaps between macroeconomic assumptions and actual outcomes, particularly for oil production and revenue. The workshop agreed on measures to strengthen forecasting, improve coordination, and reduce optimism bias in future budgets.
Key among the resolutions is the establishment of a Standing Committee on Macroeconomic Data and Assumptions to provide validation, continuous review, and report to the Economic Management Team.
Other resolutions include the creation of a central data repository to ensure all government institutions work from a single, consistent set of economic data and assumptions.
The workshop also resolved to develop a unified national data reporting framework with standard definitions for revenue, expenditure, and borrowing, and to strengthen fiscal and monetary policy coordination.
It further agreed to improve the timeliness and quality of key national statistics, including employment, productivity, and producer-price data.
In addition, assumptions underpinning the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, MTEF, Fiscal Strategy Paper, FSP, and the annual Budget will now be subjected to stronger methodology, sensitivity analysis, and scenario testing before finalisation.
The government said the reforms are part of a broader commitment to improve fiscal transparency, accountability, and evidence-based economic management.
“Better data leads to better assumptions. Better assumptions lead to better planning. And better planning should ultimately translate into better economic outcomes for Nigerians,” the statement said.
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