The Federal Government has unveiled a 10-year strategy to grow Nigeria’s capital market to ₦750 trillion by 2036, while seeking to list selected state-owned enterprises, including the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) and Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG), on the Nigerian Exchange.
Vice-President Kashim Shettima announced the plan, known as the Nigerian Capital Market Master Plan 2.0, at the National Capital Market Conference 2026 in Abuja on Monday.
Developed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the strategy aims to expand the market from a baseline of approximately ₦250 trillion to ₦750 trillion over the next decade.
Shettima described the capital market as a vital platform for mobilising long-term financing for infrastructure and economic development, allowing governments and businesses to raise funds locally instead of depending excessively on short-term financing or foreign borrowing.
According to the Vice-President, Nigeria’s capital market has recorded significant growth since President Bola Tinubu took office in May 2023.
He said the Nigerian Exchange All-Share Index increased from approximately 55,000 points in May 2023 to more than 260,000 points, while the value of listed equities rose from around ₦30 trillion to nearly ₦160 trillion in January 2026.
Shettima added that the combined value of the equity and bond markets had exceeded ₦217 trillion, reflecting increased investor participation and the impact of the government’s economic reforms.
He attributed the growth to several policy measures introduced by the Tinubu administration, including the removal of the petrol subsidy, unification of the foreign exchange market, tax reforms, bank recapitalisation and the enactment of the Investments and Securities Act 2025.
The Vice-President said the new master plan would place the capital market at the centre of infrastructure financing and help Nigerian businesses access long-term funding within the country.
He added that the strategy would strengthen the bond market for state and subnational governments, expand retail investment through technology and investor education, and provide businesses in agriculture, solid minerals and other sectors with greater access to local capital.
Shettima, who chairs the National Economic Council, also pledged to work with state governors to encourage responsible borrowing through properly structured bonds, credible project pipelines and improved transparency.
He said these measures could promote fiscal discipline and strengthen accountability in public spending, while warning that policy reversals could weaken investor confidence and reverse recent gains.
Finance Minister Targets $1tn Capital Market
Meanwhile, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, said Nigeria should aim for a $1 trillion capital market within the next decade to support the country’s ambition of building a $1 trillion economy by 2030.
Oyedele called for faster efforts to list selected state-owned enterprises, particularly NNPC and NLNG, arguing that making their shares available to investors would deepen the capital market, improve transparency and broaden public ownership of national assets.
He also said the government would introduce incentives to encourage privately owned Nigerian businesses to list on the Nigerian Exchange rather than force them to do so.
“We cannot force them. We would encourage Nigerian private businesses to list. We will use incentives to attract them,” he said.
The minister argued that listing NNPC and NLNG could significantly expand the market, drawing comparisons with Saudi Aramco, the Saudi Arabian oil company.
He said such a move would give Nigerians an opportunity to participate in the wealth generated by national assets while creating more investment opportunities for local and international investors.
Under the proposed master plan, the government intends to increase equity market capitalisation from 33 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) to at least 60 per cent.
It also aims to increase the number of listed companies from 146 to 250 and grow the retail investor base from six million to 20 million.
Other targets include more than tripling corporate bond issuance as a share of GDP, increasing sukuk market penetration from 0.3 per cent to at least five per cent of GDP, and raising pension assets from six per cent to 16 per cent of GDP.
FG Seeks Better Credit Rating and More Foreign Investment
Oyedele said Nigeria was working to strengthen its position among international investors, citing the country’s reinstatement in the FTSE Russell Frontier Market Index on September 21, 2026, and the inclusion of Nigerian government bonds in a new J.P. Morgan government bond index with a weight of 7.4 per cent.
He added that the government was pursuing a return to J.P. Morgan’s flagship government bond index, with the longer-term goal of achieving emerging-market status.
The minister also disclosed that Nigeria was targeting an investment-grade credit rating within three years.
He said achieving the goal would require continued economic reforms, improved market liquidity and dependable arrangements for foreign investors to repatriate their funds.
Government Launches National Savings Scheme
As part of efforts to increase domestic investment, Oyedele formally launched the National Savings Scheme, which is designed to provide Nigerians with regulated opportunities to save and invest towards education, housing, business development and retirement.
He said the scheme would provide accessible investment channels, transparent information, reasonable costs and an effective complaints process, alongside tax incentives where permitted by law.
The minister expressed concern that many young Nigerians were putting their money into betting platforms, unregulated cryptocurrency schemes and Ponzi schemes instead of regulated investment products.
He said the new initiative would help channel domestic savings into productive investments, including through small contributions made using mobile phones.
Oyedele also announced plans to strengthen enforcement against Ponzi schemes through improved surveillance, social media monitoring and cooperation with law enforcement agencies.
He added that the government was considering a fraud restitution mechanism to provide support to victims of such schemes.
SEC Outlines Implementation Plans
Speaking at the conference, Securities and Exchange Commission Director-General Dr Emomotimi Agama said the master plan was designed to broaden market participation, expand investment products and strengthen the integrity and infrastructure of Nigeria’s capital market.
Agama disclosed that a Project Steering Committee and a Capital Market Master Plan Implementation Committee would be inaugurated to oversee the plan’s implementation.
“Every commitment in NCMMP 2.0 will have an owner, a timeline and a scorecard, and we will report progress openly to this nation,” he said.
The SEC director-general also reported that equity market capitalisation crossed ₦100 trillion for the first time in January and rose above ₦160 trillion in September.
He said the All-Share Index gained approximately 60 per cent in 2026, following a 51 per cent return in 2025.
However, Agama cautioned that the growth in market value had not been matched by sufficient participation among Nigerians, noting that relatively few citizens owned shares, bonds or units in collective investment schemes.
“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.
