Capital market operators have intensified extensive software and technological modifications across internal workflows, securing operational readiness ahead of the Nigerian capital market’s historic migration to a T+1 settlement cycle on Monday, June 1, 2026.
The structural shift, approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission, will condense the country’s post-trade clearing timeframe to one business day following trade execution, effectively replacing the current T+2 protocol implemented in late 2025.
Under the new regulatory directive, secondary market equities and commodities transactions matched across the Nigerian Exchange Limited, NASD OTC Exchange, and the Lagos Commodities and Futures Exchange will see concurrent exchanges of cash and securities finalised within a single 24-hour cycle.
Ahead of the go-live milestone, market firms have deployed Straight-Through Processing extensions and Application Programming Interface portals to reduce human friction in trade matching and clearing validations.
Reflecting on the infrastructure overhaul during an interactive industry discourse, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Central Securities Clearing System Plc, Shehu Shantali, described the transition as a defining milestone for the local bourse.
“The transition to T+1 represents another important milestone in the evolution of Nigeria’s capital market infrastructure. It reflects the market’s readiness to embrace reforms that enhance efficiency, strengthen investor confidence, improve liquidity, and align Nigeria more closely with leading global markets,” Shantali said.
Shantali further maintained that the compressed operational timeline was achieved through extensive backend collaboration between technology engineers, market infrastructure providers, and market operators.
“The successful implementation of T+1 is a product of extensive collaboration across the capital market ecosystem,” he noted. “We appreciate the commitment demonstrated by our regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission, Exchanges, Trade Associations, market operators, and the T+1 Implementation Plan Committee,” he added.
Confirming system synchronisation at the custody level, the President of the Association of Asset Custodians of Nigeria, Babatunde Majiyagbe, affirmed that automated accounting platforms have been restructured to accommodate same-day trade matching confirmations between brokerage houses and custodial desks.
“Custodians have aligned their systems and processes with the shorter settlement cycle, reaffirming our commitment to supporting regulators, investors, and infrastructure providers,” Majiyagbe stated.
The SEC has continued to advocate for the shortened post-trade window, stating that a compressed clearing timeline serves as a global benchmark of market discipline and sovereign operational credibility.
According to regulatory highlights released by the commission, Friday, 29 May 2026, will mark the final closing session under the legacy T+2 framework. In a transitional clearing arrangement, trades recorded on Friday, 29 May and Monday, 1 June will both fully settle on Tuesday, 2 June 2026, after which the T+1 framework becomes effective.
To commemorate the implementation, the CSCS, in collaboration with the Nigerian Exchange Group, will host a Special Closing Gong ceremony on Monday at the NGX House in Lagos, bringing together regulators and market executives to mark the official rollout.
