Nigeria is set to reclaim its place in the global investment map as international index provider, FTSE Russell, announced moves to restore the country to its Frontier Market classification, ending a three-year period in which the Nigerian market was designated “Unclassified”.
The reclassification, which is scheduled to take effect from the opening of trading on September 21, 2026, represents a reversal of the downgrade imposed on Nigeria in 2023 following persistent concerns over Foreign Exchange (FX) liquidity and the ability of international investors to repatriate funds from the country.
City Boy Movement (CBM) and capital market operators welcomed the development, which they described as positive for the economy.
Relatedly, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, declared that the country’s economy remained stable, assuring that Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will exceed four per cent by the end of the year.
Oyedele who briefed newsmen after the monthly meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC) on Thursday in Abuja, said the country had achieved significant macroeconomic stability. But he stressed that the next challenge was translating the gains into shared prosperity.
FTSE Russell had in March 2026 confirmed Nigeria’s return to Frontier Market status after determining that the country had met the five Quality of Markets criteria required under its classification framework.
It had stated that market participants reported the clearing of FX backlogs and an end to material delays faced by international institutional investors seeking to repatriate capital.
The latest development followed a period of uncertainty after FTSE Russell in June placed the planned reclassification under further review following the country’s transition from a T+2 to a T+1 settlement cycle.
The global index provider had raised concerns that the shorter settlement period could effectively make Nigeria a prefunded market for international institutional investors, an arrangement considered negative under its Delivery versus Payment criterion.
However, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) subsequently clarified that foreign portfolio investors were not required to prefund their accounts, while trades cleared and settled through Central Securities Clearing System remained subject to the standard Delivery versus Payment framework.
SEC had introduced the T+1 settlement regime from June 1, 2026, as part of efforts to modernise the Nigerian capital market, improve efficiency, and align the market with international standards.
With the concern addressed, the planned reclassification is now set to proceed, effectively restoring Nigeria to a market category from which it was removed in September 2023.
FTSE Russell’s 2023 decision followed prolonged difficulties in Nigeria’s foreign exchange market, particularly the inability of international institutional investors to execute FX transactions and repatriate investment proceeds at rates that could support the replication of FTSE index changes.
At the time, FTSE Russell said the lack of liquidity in the Investors’ and Exporters’ FX Window was adversely affecting international investors and had resulted in the suspension of index changes involving Nigerian equities since September 2022. Nigeria was subsequently removed from the Frontier Market indices effective September 18, 2023.
The return, therefore, marked a significant turnaround in the conditions that had previously undermined Nigeria’s standing among international portfolio investors.
Reacting to the development, City Boy Movement (CBM), a youth advocacy organisation, described the reclassification as an important validation of the economic reforms being implemented by the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
Director-General of the movement, Hon. Francis Shoga, said the development was particularly significant when viewed against the foreign exchange and capital repatriation challenges inherited by the administration.
Source: arisetv