The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) says the assumptions underpinning the 2026 budget are “more conservative, which is good”.
Dr Muda Yusuf, CPPE Director and Chief Executive Officer, told NAN by telephone that oil price and output assumptions were largely appropriate.
President Bola Tinubu on Friday presented the N58.18 trillion 2026 Appropriation Bill to a joint session of the National Assembly.
Tagged ‘Budget of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity’, the proposal outlines the Federal Government’s fiscal framework for 2026.
Yusuf said the assumptions could be more conservative by lowering oil benchmarks to reflect prevailing market and production realities.
He suggested reducing oil price to 60 dollars from 64, and cutting output to about 1.6 or 1.5 million barrels daily.
“One problem with previous budgets has been unrealistic assumptions; as much as possible, projections should be realistic,” he said.
He urged the National Assembly not to inflate the budget, warning that increases without assured revenue undermine effective implementation.
Yusuf also cautioned on rising debt service costs, noting they crowd out spending on productivity-enhancing sectors and complicate budget execution.
