The Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Dr. Emomotimi Agama, has advocated the need for sustained policy consistency and operational resilience across Nigeria’s financial system in order to reposition the nation’s capital market among the leading equities markets globally.
The investment expert made the call following the country’s placement on the S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI) 2027 Watchlist for possible reclassification from a Standalone market to a Frontier Market.
In a strategy and position paper titled “Nigeria’s Path to Index Reclassification: A Unified Strategy on Policy Consistency and Operational Resilience”, the Director-General noted the S&P DJI decision, alongside an ongoing Frontier Market review by FTSE Russell, represented the country’s most significant opportunity in a decade to regain global investor confidence and attract increased foreign portfolio investment.
He pointed out that Nigeria had moved beyond the stage of designing reforms, with international index providers now focused on whether existing policies are implemented consistently and whether the country’s market infrastructure performs reliably under normal and stressed conditions.
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According to him, the reform programme is completed and the evidence programme has now begun, necessitating the imperative for Nigeria to focus on demonstrating the effectiveness of reforms already implemented rather than introducing new measures.
Agama noted that S&P DJI acknowledged Nigeria’s improved regulatory environment, transparency, enforcement and market integrity, but made it clear that the assessment would depend on consistent policy implementation and operational resilience during the observation period running through the remainder of 2026.
He maintained that the parallel review by FTSE Russell was triggered partly by Nigeria’s successful migration to a T+1 settlement cycle in June 2026, placing the country ahead of many frontier and several emerging markets in settlement efficiency
The SEC boss explained that although both index providers use different methodologies, they were essentially assessing the same issues, including foreign exchange repatriation, settlement integrity, regulatory consistency and infrastructure reliability.
The capital market regulator cautioned that policy reversals, discretionary regulatory actions, retroactive directives or restrictions on foreign exchange access could undermine Nigeria’s chances of securing a Frontier Market classification.
He listed the five pillars of policy consistency required by global index providers to upgrade a capital market as including, durability of the foreign exchange regime, uniform regulatory enforcement, avoidance of retroactive policy changes, coordination among fiscal, monetary and regulatory authorities, and predictable enforcement of investor rights through the judicial system.
On operational resilience, Agama stressed Nigeria must demonstrate sustained performance under its new T+1 settlement regime, efficient foreign exchange repatriation, deep and liquid FX markets, resilient market infrastructure, orderly trading during periods of volatility and continuous performance throughout the observation window.
To coordinate the process, the SEC proposed the establishment of an Index Reclassification Steering Committee comprising the Commission, the Central Bank of Nigeria, Federal Ministry of Finance, Federal Inland Revenue Service, Nigerian Exchange, Central Securities Clearing System and FMDQ.
This is even as he hinted that the SEC was considering the production of a quarterly Reclassification Evidence Pack containing certified data on settlement performance, foreign exchange repatriation timelines, market liquidity, system resilience, regulatory enforcement and dispute resolution, which will be submitted quarterly to S&P DJI, FTSE Russell and MSCI.
Agama further disclosed that the SEC would engage global custodian banks ahead of the third-quarter 2026 survey to resolve operational concerns before they are reported to the index providers.
He warned that to consolidate on the reforms gains to the nation’s investment markets, Nigeria must avoid actions capable of derailing the review process, including foreign exchange (FX) restrictions during periods of market stress, uncoordinated fiscal or tax measures, infrastructure failures and adverse feedback from global custodians.
In the implementation timeline contained in the Director-General’s paper, the SEC intends to establish the steering committee and issue the first evidence report in the third quarter of 2026, followed by technical submissions to S&P DJI and FTSE Russell before the end of the year, with continuous engagement through the 2027 country classification review.
Agama expressed optimism that if the proposed framework remained faithfully implemented, Nigeria’s reclassification would ultimately be based on an unbroken, independently certified record of performance” rather than advocacy, thereby strongly positioning Nigeria to regain the Frontier Market status in 2027.
