By Abiodun Folarin
WorldStage– The Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Dr. Emomotimi Agama, has emphasized the need for policy consistency and operational resilience in Nigeria’s financial markets after the country was placed on the S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI) 2027 Watchlist for possible reclassification from Standalone to Frontier Market.
In a strategy and position paper titled “Nigeria’s Path to Index Reclassification: A Unified Strategy on Policy Consistency and Operational Resilience,” Agama said the S&P DJI decision, alongside an ongoing Frontier Market review by FTSE Russell, represents the country’s most significant opportunity in a decade to regain global investor confidence and attract increased foreign portfolio investment.
According to him, Nigeria has 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.
He stated that “the reform programme is complete; the evidence programme now begins,” stressing that the country should focus on demonstrating the effectiveness of reforms already implemented rather than introducing new measures.
He 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.
Agama explained 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.
He said although both index providers use different methodologies, they are essentially assessing the same issues, including foreign exchange repatriation, settlement integrity, regulatory consistency and infrastructure reliability.
The SEC boss warned 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 identified five pillars of policy consistency required by global index providers: 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 said 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.
The Commission also plans to produce 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 simultaneously 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 cautioned that Nigeria must avoid actions capable of derailing the review process, including foreign exchange restrictions during periods of market stress, uncoordinated fiscal or tax measures, infrastructure failures and adverse feedback from global custodians.
According to the implementation timeline contained in the 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 said if the proposed framework is faithfully implemented, Nigeria’s reclassification would ultimately be based on “an unbroken, independently certified record of performance” rather than advocacy, positioning the country to regain Frontier Market status in 2027.
