President Bola Tinubu has thrown his weight behind fresh efforts to expand Nigeria’s capital market, as the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) seeks to attract more companies, deepen investment and unlock long-term funding for the economy. The development followed a meeting between the President, NGX Group management and members of the Economic Management Team at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, where discussions centred on turning the market’s recent strong performance into sustainable economic growth.
One of the biggest proposals on the table is the planned reform and eventual listing of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) on the exchange. If achieved, the move could broaden public ownership of the energy giant while creating another channel for raising capital to support Nigeria’s development. Tinubu also reaffirmed his ambition of building a $1 trillion economy, stressing that stronger private-sector investment and deeper sources of capital would be essential to reaching the target.
The numbers presented by NGX show just how dramatically the market has changed in recent years. Market capitalisation has climbed from about N30 trillion in 2023 to roughly N160 trillion, while the NGX All-Share Index has risen from around 52,000 points to 244,000 points. Trading activity, domestic participation and foreign portfolio investment have also improved, but NGX officials say the next challenge is ensuring that market gains translate into real capital formation, business expansion, infrastructure development and job creation.
NGX Group Chairman Umaru Kwairanga said the market’s performance demonstrated how consistent policies, sound economic reforms and strong institutions could rebuild investor confidence and attract private capital. Group Managing Director and CEO Temi Popoola added that Nigeria would need deep pools of both domestic and international funding to finance major businesses, infrastructure and productive sectors. To push growth further, NGX proposed listing commercially viable government assets, encouraging domestic and dual listings by major Nigerian companies, providing clearer capital gains tax rules for listed securities and increasing the use of capital market instruments for infrastructure and industrial projects.
Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, also called for a broader and stronger capital market, describing it as a major avenue for creating wealth for millions of Nigerians. With the government now looking beyond market recovery toward sustained investment and capital formation, the renewed focus on NGX could mark an important step in reshaping how businesses, infrastructure projects and public assets are financed in Nigeria. The proposed NNPCL listing, in particular, could become a major test of whether the country can turn its capital market momentum into lasting economic opportunities.
source: The guardian
