Nigeria’s capital market on Monday transitioned to a T+1 settlement cycle, reducing the time required to complete securities transactions to one business day from two, in a move aimed at improving market efficiency, liquidity and global competitiveness.
The reform, which took effect on June 1, was implemented by key market institutions including the Nigerian Exchange Ltd. (NGX), Central Securities Clearing System Plc (CSCS) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), alongside other stakeholders in the financial ecosystem.
Speaking at a ceremony marking the transition in Lagos, CSCS Managing Director Shehu Shantali said the shorter settlement cycle would enhance market efficiency and boost investor confidence.”The shorter settlement cycle reduces counterparty risk by limiting the time between trade execution and settlement,” Shantali said at the event themed “Advancing Market Efficiency and Global Competitiveness.”
He said the change would improve liquidity by enabling investors to access and reinvest funds more quickly while strengthening the resilience of the financial system. According to him, institutional investors would benefit from faster access to capital and greater settlement certainty, while retail investors would enjoy a more seamless investment experience.
Shantali said the transition was the latest stage in a decades-long evolution of Nigeria’s capital market infrastructure.Before the establishment of CSCS in 1997, settlement cycles could take between three and six months and relied heavily on physical share certificates, he said.
The launch of CSCS operations in April 1997 reduced settlement timelines to T+5, while subsequent reforms shortened the cycle to T+3 in 2000 and T+2 in November 2025.Shantali said the adoption of T+1 brings Nigeria closer to the standards of leading global financial markets.
SEC Director-General Emomotimi Agama said the transition would reduce settlement risk, improve liquidity and strengthen investor confidence.He noted that major markets including the United States, Canada and Mexico adopted T+1 settlement in 2024, while India implemented similar reforms between 2022 and 2023.
According to Agama, markets operating under a T+1 settlement cycle now account for about 60% of global market capitalisation.”The T+1 settlement cycle is now live, and with it, a new era has begun,” Agama said, describing the reform as a defining milestone in the history of Nigeria’s capital market.
NGX Group Chairman Umaru Kwairanga said the transition marked another step towards building a stronger and more competitive financial system. He said stakeholders would continue efforts to deepen market participation and make investing more accessible to domestic and foreign investors.
CSCS Chairman Temi Popoola praised regulators and market participants for their collaboration in delivering the reform.He said future initiatives would focus on strengthening trading infrastructure, data systems and operational processes to support growing market activity.
Popoola added that reforms were increasingly extending beyond equities to private markets, fixed income securities and digital assets.
The event was attended by regulators, market operators and financial institutions from across Nigeria’s capital market ecosystem.