Chairman of the Senate Committee on Capital Market, Osita Izunaso, attributed the performance of the Nigerian stock market and the improvement in investor confidence to reforms being implemented by the Federal Government.

Nigeria’s stock market emerged as the world’s best-performing equity market in dollar terms, delivering close to 70 per cent return in the year to overtake South Korea, Bloomberg said.

In a statement issued yesterday, Izunaso said the ranking marked a significant milestone for the country’s capital market, crediting the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX), Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for reforms that have strengthened investor protection, enhanced market transparency and improved regulatory oversight.
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he senator, who represents Imo West, also hailed S&P Dow Jones’ decision to place Nigeria on its 2027 Country Classification Watchlist, a move that could pave the way for the country’s reclassification from a standalone market to a frontier market.

According to him, the development signals growing international recognition of improvements in Nigeria’s market regulation, accessibility, transparency and operational resilience.

His remarks come amid a sustained rally on the exchange, where market capitalisation gained more than N3.4 trillion in a single trading session, while the all-share index climbed sharply on renewed buying interest in banking and other blue-chip stocks.

Izunaso said the Senate Committee on Capital Market would continue to support legislative initiatives aimed at deepening the market, strengthening investor confidence and expanding the capital market’s role in financing long-term infrastructure and industrial development.

The lawmaker, however, acknowledged concerns that the strong performance of the equities market has yet to translate into broad-based improvements in household welfare, describing such observations as valid reminders of the need for sustained reforms rather than reasons to diminish the significance of the market’s gains.

He stressed that maintaining policy consistency would be essential to preserving investor confidence and sustaining the momentum, describing the latest ranking as “an important milestone” rather than the final destination for Nigeria’s capital market.