EMT moves to harmonise economic projections

Barbara Bako, Abuja.

The Federal Government has moved to strengthen coordination of its economic policies with the establishment of an inter-agency committee to harmonise key macroeconomic assumptions used for budgeting and national economic planning.

The decision was taken at the meeting of the Economic Management Team (EMT) in Abuja on Monday, where the team reviewed developments across the economy and approved measures to improve fiscal and monetary coordination.

The new committee will focus on aligning projections for crude oil prices and production, exchange rates, inflation and non-oil revenue across government agencies.

The initiative followed a technical review which identified inconsistencies in economic assumptions as one of the factors contributing to deviations between budget projections and actual performance.

The EMT also approved measures to improve the consistency and reliability of economic data released by the government.

Under the new arrangement, the Ministry of Finance will serve as the coordinating custodian of national economic data, while relevant agencies will remain responsible for providing data within their respective mandates.

Meanwhile, the team noted recent improvements in Nigeria’s economic indicators.

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.

External reserves have also risen above $54 billion, while the naira has strengthened to levels in the N1,300 range against the US dollar.

Nigeria is also scheduled to return to the FTSE Russell Frontier Market Index on September 21, a development expected to increase the visibility of the country’s capital market among global investors.

The EMT further noted that public debt remains below 40 per cent of GDP, while Moody’s has moved Nigeria’s sovereign credit outlook from stable to positive.

On agriculture, the team reviewed measures aimed at increasing the sector’s contribution to the government’s ambition of achieving a $1 trillion economy by 2030.

The plans include reducing post-harvest losses, expanding mechanisation and processing, improving export standards and ensuring that agricultural funding is released ahead of planting seasons.

The government is also planning to recapitalise the Bank of Agriculture and establish a new credit window for small holder farmers, with a target of increasing agriculture’s share of private-sector credit to 10 per cent by 2030.

The EMT also reviewed preparations for Nigeria’s hosting of the Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) in November 2026 and the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) in November 2027, both in Lagos.

The Ministry of Finance has been tasked with coordinating funding and customs facilitation for the events in collaboration with the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment.

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy said the harmonization of economic assumptions would make government planning more credible and reduce discrepancies between projections and actual economic outcomes.