ECONOMIC MANAGEMENT TEAM HARMONISES MACROECONOMIC ASSUMPTIONS, TARGETS $1 TRILLION ECONOMY<\/p>\n
The Economic Management Team (EMT), the Federal Government’s principal platform for economic coordination, met in Abuja, Monday September 7, and approved the establishment of a dedicated inter-agency committee to harmonise macroeconomic assumptions underpinning government budgeting and planning.<\/p>\n
The Team also reviewed economic performance and progress in agriculture, trade, investment and manufacturing, as well as Nigeria\u2019s preparations to host two major continental trade events.<\/p>\n
NEW COMMITTEE TO HARMONISE MACROECONOMIC ASSUMPTIONS
\nThe EMT approved a committee to harmonise key assumptions including crude oil price and production, exchange rate, inflation and non-oil revenue projections used by fiscal and monetary authorities.<\/p>\n
The decision follows a joint budget retreat and technical validation workshop which traced budget under-performance partly to inconsistent assumptions across agencies and to occasional divergence between key projections by various authorities responsible for economic policies<\/p>\n
The committee will also work to resolve inconsistencies in how key indicators are reported within government and to external stakeholders.<\/p>\n
STATE OF THE ECONOMY
\nAccording to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), real GDP growth reached 4.43% year-on-year in Q2 2026, the strongest quarterly outturn since Q3 2024. This translates to about 17% growth in half-year 2026 in US dollar terms.<\/p>\n
Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) show external reserves rose to over US$54 billion in early September 2026, the highest level in nearly 18 years and above 2026 official projections.<\/p>\n
The naira also strengthened to the N1,300s per US dollar range, its firmest level in about two years.<\/p>\n
FTSE Russell has reclassified Nigeria from \u201cUnclassified\u201d to \u201cFrontier Market\u201d status effective 21 September 2026, marking the country\u2019s return to the index after three years.<\/p>\n
The EMT was also briefed that public debt remains below 40% of GDP and that Moody\u2019s has revised Nigeria\u2019s sovereign credit outlook from stable to positive.<\/p>\n
The Team noted that Nigeria\u2019s economy, measured in purchasing-power-parity terms at over US$2.2 trillion, indicates strong potential toward the US$1 trillion nominal GDP target by 2030.<\/p>\n
STRENGTHENING EMT GOVERNANCE AND DATA COORDINATION
\nThe Team approved a revised Terms of Reference expanding EMT\u2019s remit to include macroeconomic performance review, stronger fiscal\u2013monetary coordination, monitoring of Renewed Hope Agenda priorities and periodic review of Federal Government financing needs.<\/p>\n
EMT will now meet monthly with at least two strategic sector reviews per sitting.<\/p>\n
To improve data reliability, the Ministry of Finance was designated as coordinating custodian for national economic data, with line agencies responsible for inputs.<\/p>\n
AGRICULTURE AND THE $1 TRILLION TARGET
\nThe EMT reviewed a strategy to grow agriculture\u2019s contribution to the $1 trillion economy ambition by 2030.<\/p>\n
Key measures include reducing post-harvest losses, expanding processing and mechanisation, strengthening export compliance, and improving timing of capital releases.<\/p>\n
The Team also reviewed financing plans including recapitalisation of the Bank of Agriculture and a new smallholder credit window, with a target to raise agriculture\u2019s share of private-sector credit to 10% by 2030.<\/p>\n
HOSTING CANEX 2026 AND IATF 2027
\nThe EMT reviewed Nigeria\u2019s readiness to host the Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) in November 2026 and the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) in November 2027 in Lagos.<\/p>\n
Both events are expected to attract exhibitors, buyers and for IATF, African heads of state, with significant trade and investment projections.<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Finance was tasked to coordinate funding and customs facilitation with the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment through a consolidated action plan.<\/p>\n
STATEMENT
\nThe Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy said:
\n\u201cToday’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.\u201d<\/p>\n
This was contained in a statement signed by the Secretariat, Economic Management Team,
\nFederal Ministry of Finance, Abuja<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ECONOMIC MANAGEMENT TEAM HARMONISES MACROECONOMIC ASSUMPTIONS, TARGETS $1 TRILLION ECONOMY The Economic Management Team (EMT), the Federal Government’s principal platform for economic coordination, met in Abuja, Monday September 7, and approved the establishment of a dedicated inter-agency committee to harmonise macroeconomic assumptions underpinning government budgeting and planning. The Team also reviewed economic performance and progress […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":151238,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[3428,2562,3429],"class_list":["post-152176","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-others","tag-economic-management-team","tag-federal-ministry-of-finance","tag-harmonization-of-macroeconomic-assumptions"],"yoast_head":"\n