The Nigerian capital market has experienced a historic expansion, with its contribution to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) nearly tripling from 13% to 33% in less than two years. Speaking at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) office in Lagos on Sunday, February 22, 2026, the Director General, Dr. Emomotimi Agama, revealed that market capitalization surged by 125%, rising from N55 trillion in April 2024 to over N123.93 trillion today.
The economic and structural consequence of this growth is the transformation of the capital market into a primary engine for national capital formation. This rally, according to Agama, reflects a massive vote of confidence from both local and international investors in Nigeria’s macroeconomic outlook under the current administration. However, despite the impressive “barometer” of health, the SEC warns that the market’s size must now be matched by depth and liquidity to ensure long-term stability.
Analytically, the SEC has identified several structural bottlenecks that threaten to stall this momentum. Trading activity remains heavily skewed toward a few high-cap stocks, leaving the broader market relatively shallow, while institutional investors face significant impact costs when entering or exiting large positions. Furthermore, Nigeria’s settlement cycle currently lags behind other competitive emerging markets, which hampers transaction speed and discourages certain classes of global capital.
The impact on “Retail Inclusion and Digital Transformation” is a vital dimension of the commission’s new reform phase. The SEC has inaugurated a Working Group on Market Liquidity, led by NGX Group CEO Mr. Temi Popoola, with a mandate to onboard 20 million new retail investors. This strategy relies heavily on fintech partnerships, the dematerialization of share certificates, and the full implementation of the Investments and Securities Act (ISA) 2025, which now brings digital assets under formal regulatory oversight.
Furthermore, the SEC is pushing for accelerated product innovation, particularly in derivatives and new asset classes. These tools are designed to provide hedging opportunities, allowing investors to manage risk more effectively and encouraging more frequent trading activity. By transitioning speculative interest in digital assets into regulated, productive channels, the commission hopes to deepen the pool of available capital and enhance the accuracy of price discovery.
The long-term outlook for the Nigerian economy depends on whether these measurable actions can successfully convert the current market rally into a deep, liquid ecosystem. As Temi Popoola noted, the working group will diagnose structural constraints with candour to ensure the market is not just large but globally competitive. For now, the leap to a 33% GDP contribution marks a definitive turning point, signaling that the Nigerian capital market is no longer a peripheral player but a central pillar of the nation’s financial architecture.
