Abuja, Nigeria – The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has inaugurated a Capital Market Working Group on Market Liquidity with a mandate to attract up to 20 million new investors into Nigeria’s capital market using technology-driven solutions.
Okay News reports that SEC Director-General Emomotimi Agama inaugurated the working group on Friday in Abuja, noting that expanding investor participation is essential to improving market liquidity and resilience. He added that despite strong growth in market capitalisation, active participation remains limited to a relatively small segment of the population. A shallow investor base undermines the market’s ability to efficiently allocate capital, as trading activity becomes concentrated among a few institutional players and a narrow group of retail investors.
Agama said the Commission will leverage digital platforms and fintech partnerships to convert millions of passive savers into active investors. He cited ongoing initiatives such as the dematerialisation of share certificates and collaboration with financial technology firms as key steps toward simplifying access to capital market products. The SEC chief added that the recently enacted Investments and Securities Act 2025, which brings digital assets under regulatory oversight, creates opportunities to channel speculative capital into regulated investment instruments.
Agama noted that while Nigeria’s market capitalisation has risen from about N55 trillion in April 2024 to over N123.93 trillion, the headline figures mask structural weaknesses, particularly uneven liquidity across listed securities. Trading remains concentrated in a few highly active stocks, leaving much of the market thinly traded and making it difficult for investors to enter or exit positions without affecting prices. Broader participation will enhance price discovery, reduce volatility, and strengthen investor confidence. The market’s contribution to GDP has moved from 13 percent to 33 percent, a development he described as impressive but not enough.
He urged members of the liquidity task force drawn from exchanges, custodians, fund managers, dealing members, and other market operators to deliver practical recommendations that will deepen the market and make investment opportunities accessible to ordinary Nigerians. Building a large and inclusive investor base is essential to transforming Nigeria’s capital market into a robust platform for mobilising long-term capital for economic growth.
The Nigerian equities market closed January 2026 on a strong note, rising 6.27 percent as over 15 billion shares exchanged hands. The market has sustained its rally in February, pushing the All-Share Index to cross the 190,000 mark for the first time on February 17. The working group’s efforts to improve market liquidity through technology and broader participation could further strengthen these gains. Enhanced market liquidity would enable more efficient price discovery and reduce volatility, attracting additional investors to the market.
 has inaugurated a Capital Market Working Group on Market Liquidity with a mandate to attract up to 20 million new investors into Nigeria's capital market using technology-driven solutions.){kind=link}