The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the 2026 national budget, paving the way for its formal presentation to a joint session of the National Assembly by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu later today.
The approval clears a key constitutional step in the budgetary process and signals the commencement of legislative consideration of the 2026 Appropriation Bill.
The development was disclosed on Friday via a brief statement issued by the President’s Special Assistant on Social Media, Dada Olusegun, on his official X (formerly Twitter) account.
“The Federal Executive Council has approved the 2026 Budget, and it is now ready for presentation to a joint session of the National Assembly this afternoon by the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” the statement read.
The approval followed a series of FEC meetings during which critical fiscal assumptions and policy frameworks underpinning the 2026 fiscal year were reviewed and endorsed. These discussions were anchored on the 2026–2028 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and the accompanying Fiscal Strategy Paper, which outline the federal government’s revenue projections, expenditure priorities, and macroeconomic outlook over the medium term.
As part of the approved fiscal parameters, the Council had earlier endorsed an oil price benchmark of $64.85 per barrel for the 2026 budget year. The benchmark reflects prevailing global oil market conditions and is a key determinant of projected government revenue, given Nigeria’s continued reliance on crude oil exports.
The FEC also approved a budget exchange rate of ₦1,512 to one United States dollar for the 2026 fiscal year. The exchange rate assumption is expected to guide revenue estimates, debt servicing projections, and external trade calculations in the proposed budget.
While details of the total budget size, sectoral allocations, and deficit financing plans have not yet been made public, the presentation to the National Assembly is expected to provide further clarity on the administration’s spending priorities for the year.
Analysts anticipate that the 2026 budget will build on ongoing economic reforms, with continued emphasis on fiscal discipline, revenue mobilisation, infrastructure development, and social intervention programmes. The proposal is also expected to address challenges linked to inflation, exchange rate volatility, and public debt sustainability.
Following the presentation, the budget proposal will be referred to the relevant committees of the National Assembly for scrutiny, public hearings, and possible amendments before final passage and presidential assent.
The approval of the 2026 budget by the FEC underscores the Tinubu administration’s commitment to maintaining the budget calendar and ensuring early engagement with the legislature on fiscal planning for the coming year.