The National Economic Council (NEC), under the chairmanship of Vice President Kashim Shettima, has resolved to intensify collaboration with key stakeholders to significantly boost non-oil revenue collection, in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic diversification agenda.
During its 156th meeting the first of 2026 held virtually on Thursday, the council stressed the need to accelerate the shift from heavy reliance on oil to a more balanced economy powered by competitive manufacturing, expanded exports, and robust private-sector investment.
The council approved the establishment of a bipartisan committee tasked with implementing President Tinubu’s directives on priority legacy projects, notably the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and the Sokoto-Badagry Super Highway.
The committee will be chaired by the Governor of Cross River State and include one governor from each of the six geo-political zones: 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 to the committee, with the Ministers of Works and Transportation also included as members.
The resolutions followed a detailed presentation by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, on Nigeria’s 2026 economic priorities.
Edun highlighted key reforms already executed by the Tinubu administration that have eliminated long-standing distortions, restored macroeconomic stability, and set the country on a path of sustained recovery.
He noted increasing international recognition of Nigeria’s reform efforts, which continues to strengthen investor confidence and supports a projected real GDP growth rate of 4.68% in 2026.
Among the core priorities outlined for the year are:
Strengthening economic competitiveness through improved governance
Enhancing food availability and affordability
Advancing human-capital development
Expanding social protection programmes
Ensuring timely servicing of debt obligations, payment of salaries, and pensions
NEC commended the Federal Government’s plans to unlock rapid, employment-intensive growth, broaden entrepreneurship opportunities, and generate high-quality jobs.
The council also agreed to convene a dedicated session in the near future to tackle critical challenges in the national food-security agenda, with particular focus on constraints affecting agricultural productivity.
Vice President Shettima underscored the growing contribution of non-oil sectors, stating that agriculture, services, and other non-oil activities now shoulder the majority of economic output.
He pointed out that non-oil revenues currently account for nearly three-quarters of total government collections a clear, though gradual, move away from historic dependence on volatile oil income
.“This moment calls for perspective, not triumphalism or despair. The Nigerian economy has travelled a difficult road, but it has not done so without progress,” he remarked.
He cited quarterly GDP performance in 2025, which rose from 3.13% in the first quarter to 4.23% in the second before settling at 3.98% in the third, attributing the trend to difficult but essential policy choices.
The council also reviewed account balances as of January 14, 2026:Excess Crude Account: $535,823.39
Stabilisation Account: ₦64.65 billion
Natural Resources Account: ₦97.37 billion
Other key updates included progress on the Lagos-Calabar and Sokoto-Badagry Super Highways (being coordinated by the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation) and the relocation of the Office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation to the Presidency.
NEC received a briefing from the World Bank Group on its proposed framework, which prioritises national programmes executed at state level, results-based financing, early childhood development, and human-capital investments as drivers of long-term growth.
The council pledged full institutional support for the framework in alignment with the Renewed Hope Agenda.On tax reforms, the council directed the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee to present a comprehensive implementation brief at the forthcoming February conference.
It also resolved to deepen engagement with states on the new tax regime, including harmonisation of tax laws, adoption of presumptive taxation for the informal sector, strengthening of state internal revenue services, and approval of a National Fiscal Policy.
These decisions reflect the Tinubu administration’s continued focus on building a more diversified, inclusive, and resilient economy amid persistent global uncertainties.
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