• Shettima backs 10-year Capital Market master plan

As part of efforts to achieve the federal government’s $1 trillion economy target, the presidency and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have disclosed moves to mobilise more domestic savings into productive investment.

Under the initiative, the SEC is to introduce a National Savings Scheme with tax incentives, just as Vice President Kashim Shettima is expected to endorse the Nigerian Capital Market Master Plan 2.0 – a 10-year strategic framework designed to guide the growth and development of the market.

The measures are expected to feature at the Capital Market Conversation scheduled for October 19, 2026, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Addressing newsmen in Abuja, the presidency and SEC disclosed plans to bring together policymakers, investors, capital market operators, listed companies, market infrastructure institutions and other stakeholders for the project.

According to the Technical Adviser to the President on Economic and Financial Inclusion in the Office of the Vice President, Dr Nurudeen Zauro, deepening the capital market is central to the efforts to mobilise capital, expand investment opportunities and promote financial inclusion.

According to him, financial inclusion must extend beyond opening bank or investment accounts to ensuring that ordinary Nigerians can participate meaningfully in economic activities and access investment opportunities.

Zauro said the October conversation would focus on investment inclusion, savings mobilisation, digital financial services and the development of products capable of attracting more Nigerians into the investment market.

For his part, the Director-General of SEC, Dr Emomotimi Agama, said the proposed National Savings Scheme would serve as an instrument for broadening financial inclusion by providing Nigerians with an avenue to save and have their savings invested for the future.

He explained that the scheme would incorporate tax incentives, linking the initiative to the Federal Government’s broader fiscal reforms.

According to him, tax reliefs available to citizens below specified income thresholds could increase disposable income among low-income earners and enhance their capacity to save and invest.

The SEC boss also announced that Shettima was expected to endorse the Nigerian Capital Market Master Plan 2.0 at the October 19 event.

Agama further described the document as a 10-year strategic framework that would provide direction for the development of the capital market, while establishing measurable indicators for assessing its performance.

He said the plan would provide benchmarks for measuring the growth and economic contribution of the capital market, including its contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the number of investors participating in the market.