Nigeria has achieved a major regulatory milestone by becoming the first financial market in Africa to transition to a T+1 (trade plus one day) settlement cycle, drastically reducing the time it takes to finalize securities transactions to just 24 hours.
Ahonsi Unuigbe, Chairman of Nigeria Exchange Limited (NGX), announced the development, noting that the migration to next-day settlement finality will significantly reduce counterparty risk, maximize liquidity efficiency, and signal to international investors that Nigeria’s capital market infrastructure is capable of competing globally.
With this implementation, Nigeria joins a elite group of only five countries worldwide—including the United States, Canada, and Mexico—to operate on a T+1 cycle, successfully leaping ahead of several major developed markets that are not scheduled to make the transition until 2027.
The structural upgrade comes on the heels of historic growth for the local bourse. NGX emerged as the top-performing exchange in Africa and the third-best-performing exchange globally in 2025. Furthermore, the market capitalization of the exchange has experienced a staggering 146% year-on-year growth in US Dollar terms.
Currently valued at $117 billion, the NGX stands firmly as the second-largest exchange by market capitalization on the African continent. Unuigbe emphasized that the transition to T+1 is a critical step in an ongoing, deliberate strategy to build a deeper, more liquid, and globally competitive Nigerian market.
