The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the 2026 Budget, paving the way for its presentation to a joint session of the National Assembly later today by President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The approval was disclosed on Friday in a brief statement posted on X by the President’s Special Assistant on Social Media, Dada Olusegun.
“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.
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The approval followed an emergency meeting of the Council presided over by President Tinubu at the State House, Abuja, just hours after he formally notified the National Assembly of his intention to present the 2026 budget estimates at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, December 19, 2025.
Speaking at the opening of the meeting, Vice President Kashim Shettima said the session was convened to give final approval to the budget proposals before their presentation to lawmakers, explaining that the Council was meeting to “put the stamp of approval” on the estimates.
The development comes after the FEC meeting held on December 3, during which the Council reviewed and approved key parameters of the 2026–2028 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and the Fiscal Strategy Paper.
Among the earlier decisions were the approval of an oil price benchmark of $64.85 per barrel, a budget exchange rate of ₦1,512 to the US dollar, and the adoption of a more conservative crude oil production estimate of 1.8 million barrels per day for the 2026 fiscal year.
Those in attendance at Friday’s meeting included Vice President Shettima; the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume; the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Didi Walson-Jack; the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila; and the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, alongside ministers and other members of the Federal Executive Council.