The National Economic Council (NEC), chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima, has resolved to deepen engagement with key stakeholders to accelerate non-oil revenue generation as Nigeria intensifies its transition away from oil dependence under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic blueprint.
At its 156th meeting—the first of 2026—held virtually on Thursday, the Council also approved the constitution of a bipartisan committee to drive the implementation of the President’s directive on the actualisation of legacy projects, including the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and the Sokoto-Badagry Super Highway.
In his opening remarks, Vice President Shettima warned that global economic volatility continued to expose Nigeria’s vulnerability to oil price shocks, exchange rate fluctuations, and unstable capital flows, underscoring the urgency of fiscal risk management.
“While global powers assert their interests with renewed confidence, commodity markets will remain volatile,” Shettima said, noting that oil prices and capital flows had continued to frustrate domestic policy objectives. “This reality reinforces the urgency of reducing our economic and revenue exposure to oil.”
He stressed that Nigeria’s non-oil economy had now become the backbone of growth, accounting for about 96 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and expanding at roughly four per cent annually.
“Services, agriculture, and other non-oil sectors are increasingly carrying the weight of the economy. More importantly, non-oil revenues now contribute nearly three-quarters of total government collections,” the Vice President said. “This marks a significant, if gradual, departure from our historic dependence on volatile oil receipts.”
According to him, the task ahead was to consolidate these gains by deepening the transition through “competitive manufacturing, export diversification, and private sector investment.”
Reflecting on the economic journey of the past year, Shettima said the first NEC meeting of 2026 demanded “coherence, courage, and consistency,” given the long-term implications of policy choices made in 2025.
“This moment in our journey calls for neither triumphalism nor despair. What it calls for is perspective,” he said. “The Nigerian economy has travelled a difficult road over the past year, but it has not travelled it without progress.”
He attributed the economy’s performance in 2025 to what he described as the “visionary leadership” of President Tinubu, noting that Nigeria recorded its fastest growth rate in over a decade.
“In 2025, our economy expanded by 3.9 per cent, the fastest rate of growth in over a decade,” Shettima said. “Quarter by quarter, this momentum was evident: growth strengthened from 3.13 per cent in the first quarter to 4.23 per cent in the second, before settling at 3.98 per cent in the third.”
“This is the outcome of hard decisions taken in difficult circumstances, and this is not a surprise with a visionary like His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, leading the charge,” he added.
However, the Vice President cautioned that the growth trajectory remained insufficient to meet Nigeria’s development challenges.
“A growth rate of 3.9 per cent, while encouraging, is not sufficient to decisively reduce poverty, generate jobs at the scale our population demands, or lift per capita incomes in a way that ordinary Nigerians can feel,” he said. “With population growth at about 2.6 per cent annually, this rate of expansion leaves us with little room to absorb inflationary pressures or external shocks. Our ambition, therefore, must be higher.”
Earlier, NEC’s resolutions followed a presentation by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, on Nigeria’s economic priorities for 2026. The presentation highlighted reforms introduced by the Tinubu administration, including targeted programmes aimed at removing systemic distortions, stabilising the economy, and positioning the country for sustained recovery.
Edun also pointed to growing global recognition of Nigeria’s reforms, which he said was boosting investor confidence, with the economy projected to grow by 4.68 per cent in 2026.
According to him, key priorities include maintaining economic competitiveness through sound governance, improving food availability and affordability, strengthening human capital development, enhancing social protection, and ensuring the timely payment of debt service, salaries, and pensions.
NEC commended the Federal Government’s plans to unlock “rapid and sustained job-rich growth, high-quality jobs, and entrepreneurship opportunities,” and resolved to dedicate a special session to addressing critical issues in food security, particularly agricultural productivity.
On legacy projects, the Council approved the establishment of a Presidential NEC Committee chaired by the Governor of Cross River State. One governor from each geopolitical zone will serve as members: Sokoto (North West), Gombe (North East), Niger (North Central), Abia (South East), and Lagos (South West).
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, Deborah Odoh, will serve as Secretary of the committee, while the Ministers of Works and Transportation will also be members.
NEC was also briefed on the implementation of President Tinubu’s directives on the Lagos-Calabar and Sokoto-Badagry highways, with the Council noting that the process was being overseen by the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation. It also acknowledged the relocation of the Office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation to the Presidency in line with presidential approval.
In addition, the Council received updates on Nigeria’s account balances as of January 14, 2026, including $535,823.39 in the Excess Crude Account, ₦64.65 billion in the Stabilisation Account, and ₦97.37 billion in the Natural Resources Account.
NEC further welcomed a presentation by the World Bank Group on the new Nigeria Country Partnership Framework, which focuses on large-scale national programmes implemented at state level, result-based financing, and investments in early childhood development under the “First 2,000 Days” initiative.
Council members lauded the framework, particularly its emphasis on human capital development, and committed to working with the World Bank to advance President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
On tax reforms, NEC was briefed by the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee on new tax laws aimed at addressing inequity, reducing complexity, and creating a more growth-friendly tax system. The Council directed the committee to present a more comprehensive briefing at its February conference to prepare states for implementation.
NEC resolved to intensify engagement with sub-national governments on the new tax regime, stressing the need for political leadership, tax harmonisation laws, adoption of presumptive taxation for the informal sector, stronger state revenue services, and approval of a National Fiscal Policy.
Boluwatife Enome
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