PRESIDENT Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Thursday convened an emergency meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, ahead of the presentation of the 2026 Appropriation Bill to a joint session of the National Assembly.
News Point Nigeria reports that the emergency session, which took place at the Council Chambers of the State House, came just hours after the President formally notified the National Assembly of his intention to present the 2026 budget estimates at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, December 19, 2025, in line with constitutional provisions.
Vice President Kashim Shettima, who addressed council members at the opening of the meeting, said the session was convened specifically to grant final approval to the 2026 budget proposals before their formal transmission to lawmakers.
According to Shettima, the emergency meeting was necessary to “put the stamp of approval” on the budget estimates, ensuring that all fiscal assumptions, projections and expenditure plans were fully aligned with the administration’s economic priorities before presentation to the legislature.
The development follows the Federal Executive Council meeting held on December 3, during which the council reviewed and approved the key parameters of the 2026–2028 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and the Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP), documents that form the foundation of the annual budget.
At that earlier meeting, the council approved an oil price benchmark of $64.85 per barrel for the 2026 fiscal year, alongside a budget exchange rate of ₦1,512 to one United States dollar.
Under the three-year MTEF projections covering 2026 to 2028, gross Federation revenue for 2026 was estimated at ₦50.74 trillion. Of this amount, the Federal Government is projected to receive ₦22.60 trillion, while state governments are expected to receive ₦16.30 trillion. Local governments are projected to receive ₦11.85 trillion within the same period.
Briefing journalists after the December 3 council meeting, the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu, disclosed that the FEC also approved a crude oil production benchmark of 2.06 million barrels per day for 2026.
However, Bagudu explained that a more conservative production estimate of 1.8 million barrels per day would be adopted for budgetary planning, reflecting ongoing concerns around oil theft, pipeline vandalism and production disruptions.
Thursday’s emergency FEC meeting underscores the administration’s determination to meet constitutional timelines for budget presentation and maintain fiscal discipline amid prevailing economic challenges, including inflationary pressures, exchange rate volatility and revenue mobilisation.
Those present at the emergency council session included Vice President Kashim Shettima; Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume; Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Didi Walson-Jack; Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila; and National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.
Ministers and other statutory members of the Federal Executive Council were also in attendance.
The President is expected to formally lay the 2026 Appropriation Bill before a joint sitting of the Senate and House of Representatives today, marking the official commencement of the 2026 budget consideration process.