Chairman of the Alliance for Economic Research and Ethics (AERE), Dele Oye, said Nigeria would need to maintain policy consistency, deepen market liquidity and strengthen investor confidence to sustain its position as the world’s best-performing stock market,

His advice came after the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) recorded a 228 per cent rise in market capitalisation over three years and came out of the first half (H1) as the best performing market in dollar terms.

Oye attributed the sustained rally partly to the macroeconomic reforms introduced by the administration of President Bola Tinubu since May 2023, particularly the removal of petrol subsidy and the unification of the foreign exchange market.

While acknowledging the immediate economic costs of the reforms, including a surge in inflation that peaked at 34.8 per cent in December 2024, Oye argued that the government’s decision to maintain its reform direction had helped create the conditions for subsequent disinflation.

Inflation, he said, had eased to 14.45 per cent by November 2025, while he projected that it could fall to about 12 per cent by the end of 2026 and below 10 per cent thereafter.

Oye also pointed to other macroeconomic indicators as evidence of improving investor sentiment, claiming that the naira had appreciated by about four per cent against the dollar in 2026, while foreign reserves had risen above $45 billion.

He further cited a current account surplus of $16 billion recorded in 2024, which he projected could increase to $18.8 billion in 2026. Non-oil exports, he said, rose by 48 per cent by the third quarter of 2025, while exports to other African countries increased by 97 per cent during the same period.

According to Oye, four major factors have supported the equities market rally: banking sector recapitalisation, strategic new listings, currency dynamics and oil prices.

He argued that the market’s performance could not, however, be attributed to the strength of any single stock or sector, but rather to a broader change in investor perception arising from the government’s willingness to sustain difficult reforms despite political pressure.

Looking ahead, he said sustaining the three-year market rally would depend largely on the government’s ability to maintain policy consistency, deepen market liquidity, ensure greater exchange rate stability and effectively execute its development agenda.