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The Federal Government has moved to end differences in the economic figures and assumptions used by its agencies, with the Economic Management Team (EMT) approving a new inter-agency committee to harmonise projections for crude oil prices and production, exchange rates, inflation and non-oil revenue.

The decision was taken at the EMT meeting in Abuja on Monday, where the team also reviewed Nigeria’s economic performance and approved measures to strengthen coordination between fiscal and monetary authorities. 

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The Nation reported on Monday that the federal government was working to harmonize the economic assumptions.

The new committee is expected to ensure that government agencies work with the same basic economic assumptions when preparing the national budget and planning economic policies.

The move followed a joint budget retreat and a technical review which found that differences in the assumptions used by government agencies had contributed to budget under-performance.

The committee will also examine inconsistencies in the way important economic indicators are calculated and presented by government agencies, including information released to the public and international organisations.

The government believes that having one agreed set of economic assumptions will make the budget more realistic and reduce major differences between projected and actual revenue, expenditure and economic performance.

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, said the decision was aimed at making government planning more reliable. “Today’s decisions tighten the link between the numbers we plan with and the actual outturns,” Oyedele said.

He added that using a common set of assumptions across fiscal and monetary authorities would mean “fewer surprises in the budget and more credible planning for investors and all Nigerians.” 

The EMT reviewed measures aimed at increasing agriculture’s contribution to economic growth, with the government focusing on reducing losses after harvest, expanding processing, increasing mechanisation and improving compliance with export standards.

The government also wants public funding for agriculture to reach farmers at the right time, particularly before the beginning of planting seasons.

As part of the financing strategy, the Federal Government plans to recapitalise the Bank of Agriculture and establish a new credit facility for smallholder farmers.

The government is also targeting an increase in agriculture’s share of private-sector credit to about 10 per cent by 2030.

The move is expected to provide more funding for farmers and agricultural businesses and support investment in production, processing and other parts of the agricultural value chain.

The EMT is the Federal Government’s main platform for coordinating economic policies. Its core members currently include Vice President Kashim Shettima, who chairs the team; Oyedele, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy; Atiku Bagudu, Minister of Budget and National Planning; Yemi Cardoso, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria; and Zacch Adedeji, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Revenue Service. 

Under a revised mandate approved by the EMT, the team will now have a wider role in reviewing macroeconomic performance, improving fiscal and monetary coordination, monitoring the implementation of the Renewed Hope Agenda and periodically assessing the Federal Government’s financing needs.

The team also agreed to meet every month instead of relying on less frequent meetings. Each meeting will include at least two strategic reviews of important sectors of the economy.

The changes are intended to give the government a more regular system for checking whether its economic policies are producing the expected results and whether adjustments are needed.

The Federal Ministry of Finance has also been assigned responsibility for coordinating national economic data.

Individual government agencies will continue to produce and maintain the statistics relating to their areas of responsibility, but the Finance Ministry will coordinate the data before major economic figures are released publicly.

The arrangement is expected to reduce situations where different government institutions provide conflicting figures on the same economic indicator.

The development comes as the government reports stronger economic conditions in several areas.

Nigeria’s real GDP grew by 4.43 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2026, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. The EMT said this was the strongest quarterly growth since the third quarter of 2024. 

The government also said the economy recorded about 17 per cent growth in US dollar terms during the first half of 2026.

Another major development is the rise in Nigeria’s external reserves to more than $54 billion in early September.

According to the EMT, the reserve level is the highest in almost 18 years and is above the government’s official projection for the whole of 2026.

At the same time, the naira has strengthened to its strongest level in about two years, trading in the N1,300s to the dollar in early September.

The improvement in reserves and the stronger naira are important to the government because they can help reduce pressure on the foreign exchange market and improve confidence among businesses and investors.

Nigeria is also set to return to the FTSE Russell Frontier Market index after about three years. 

FTSE Russell has moved Nigeria from “Unclassified” to “Frontier Market” status, with the new classification scheduled to take effect when the market opens on September 21, 2026.

The government expects the move to give Nigerian companies greater visibility among international investors and potentially improve foreign participation in the country’s stock market.

The EMT was also informed that Nigeria’s public debt remains below 40 per cent of GDP, while Moody’s has changed the country’s sovereign credit outlook from stable to positive.

The team also considered Nigeria’s economic size and its long-term growth potential.

It noted that when measured using purchasing power parity, Nigeria’s economy is worth more than $2.2 trillion, much larger than its nominal dollar GDP. 

The government believes this provides room for the country to move towards its target of achieving a $1 trillion nominal economy by 2030. Agriculture is expected to play a major role in achieving that target.

The EMT also reviewed Nigeria’s preparations to host two major continental trade events in Lagos.

The first is the Creative Africa Nexus, known as CANEX, scheduled for November 2026.

The second is the Intra-African Trade Fair, IATF, scheduled for November 2027.

Both events are expected to attract exhibitors, international buyers and investors. The 2027 trade fair is also expected to attract African heads of state.

The Federal Government expects the events to generate significant trade and investment opportunities for Nigeria. 

The Ministry of Finance has been directed to coordinate funding and customs arrangements for the events, working with the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment on a single action plan.

The plan will also assign specific responsibilities to named ministers to ensure that preparations are properly coordinated.