The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is targeting a ₦750 trillion Nigerian capital market by 2036, up from about ₦250 trillion, under a 10-year plan to expand investment, mobilise domestic savings and provide long-term financing for economic development.
Vice President Kashim Shettima unveiled the Nigerian Capital Market Master Plan 2.0 at the National Capital Market Conference 2026 in Abuja on Monday, as the government called for more companies to list on the Nigerian Exchange and broader participation by retail investors.
SEC Director-General, Emomotimi Agama, said the 2026–2036 plan would deepen market participation, expand investment products and strengthen market infrastructure and regulatory integrity.
He said the Commission would establish implementation structures to ensure the plan delivers measurable outcomes.
“Every commitment in NCMMP 2.0 will have an owner, a timeline and a scorecard, and we will report progress openly to this nation,” Agama said.
Shettima said the capital market had become a critical instrument of economic policy and a channel for financing infrastructure and other long-term projects.
He noted the Nigerian Exchange All-Share Index had risen from about 55,000 points in May 2023 to more than 260,000 points, while listed equities increased in value from approximately ₦30 trillion to nearly ₦160 trillion in January 2026.
The combined value of the equities and bond markets had also exceeded ₦217 trillion, he added.
Shettima attributed the growth to government reforms, including petrol subsidy removal, foreign exchange market unification, tax reforms, bank recapitalisation and the Investments and Securities Act 2025.
He said the new master plan would help governments finance infrastructure through domestic savings rather than rely excessively on short-term or foreign borrowing.
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He also urged market operators and regulators to sustain consistent policies to protect investor confidence.
However, Agama said market growth had not translated into broad participation by Nigerians, with too few people owning shares, bonds or units in collective investment schemes.
He said businesses, infrastructure projects and state governments also continued to rely heavily on bank loans and foreign financing.
“The strength of any capital market rests on the savings of its people. Ours must rest on the savings of all of us,” he said.
Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele said Nigeria should aim for a $1 trillion capital market within 10 years, arguing that the SEC’s ₦750 trillion target should not limit the country’s ambition.
He proposed increasing equity market capitalisation from 33 per cent of gross domestic product to at least 60 per cent, raising listed companies from 146 to 250 and expanding retail investors from six million to 20 million.
Oyedele also called for increased corporate bond issuance, deeper sukuk markets and growth in pension assets. He said the government would use incentives rather than compel private businesses to list.
“We cannot force them. We would encourage Nigerian private businesses to list. We will use incentives to attract them,” he said.
He urged the government to accelerate plans to list selected state-owned enterprises, particularly the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) and Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG), saying public offerings could improve transparency and allow Nigerians to share in the value of national assets.
Similarly, Senate Committee on Capital Market Chairman Osita Izunaso urged the government to encourage NNPC and telecommunications companies to list on the exchange. He noted that Nigeria had more than five million registered companies but only about 151 listed firms.
Izunaso also called on the SEC to accelerate regulations for digital assets and tokenisation, which involve representing assets as digital tokens.
Meanwhile, Oyedele formally launched the National Savings Scheme, designed to provide regulated channels for Nigerians to save and invest towards education, housing, business development and retirement.
The scheme is intended to connect domestic savings with productive investments, with professional fund managers overseeing funds and tax incentives supporting participation.
Oyedele expressed concern that some young Nigerians were putting money into betting platforms, unregulated cryptocurrency schemes and Ponzi schemes instead of regulated investment products.
He said the government would strengthen surveillance and enforcement against investment fraud.
He also said Nigeria was seeking an upgrade in international investment classifications and an investment-grade credit rating within three years.
Achieving this, he added, would require sustained reforms, stronger market liquidity and reliable repatriation of foreign investors’ funds.
The government intends to measure the plan’s success not only by market capitalisation, but also by the amount of capital directed to productive investment, the number of participating investors, transaction costs and the effectiveness of investor protection.
Alex is a business journalist cum data enthusiast with the Pinnacle Daily. He can be reached via ealex@thepinnacleng.com, @ehime_alex on X