The Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting is underway at the State House, Abuja, with President Bola Tinubu presiding.
Conspicuously absent is Vice-President Kashim Shettima, who is currently in Saudi Arabia for the lesser hajj.
Persecondnews reports that the Chief of Staff to the President, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila; National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu; and Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, are among attendees at the meeting.
This meeting is particularly significant as it marks the final FEC gathering for 2024.
The meeting precedes President Tinubu’s presentation of the 2025 Appropriation Bill to the National Assembly on Tuesday. Notably, the FEC had previously approved Nigeria’s 2025-2027 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), which includes a substantial N47.9 trillion budget estimate for 2025.
The plan features N9.22 trillion in new borrowing to finance the deficit, with an oil price benchmark of $75 per barrel, daily production of 2.06 million barrels, and an exchange rate of N1,400 to the dollar.
Shettima departed Dubai for Saudi Arabia after representing President Bola Tinubu at the commissioning of a $315 million oil production and storage facility owned by Oriental Energy Limited (OERL).
He was seen off at the airport by the Executive Chairman of OERL, Alhaji Muhammadu Indimi; the Executive Vice Chairman of OERL, Engr. Goni M. Sheikh and many others.
Shettima, accompanied by the Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum, will perform the Lesser Hajj (Umrah) in the holy cities of Madinah and Makkah from December 16 to 19, 2024, said his spokesman, Mr. Stanley Nkwocha.
The Vice President will on December 20 hold a bilateral meeting with the President of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) in Jeddah.
The discussions will centre on co-financing arrangements for the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ Phase II) and enhancing coordination of IsDB projects in Nigeria to support the country’s agricultural and economic development.
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