Economy
Finance Minister Advocates Commercial Dispute Tribunal for Capital Market
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Nigeria’s Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, has proposed the establishment of a specialised Commercial Dispute Resolution Tribunal to fast-track the resolution of business disputes.
Speaking at the inaugural lecture as a Fellow of the Capital Market Academics of Nigeria (CMAN) in Abuja, Mr Oyedele argued that faster justice delivery is critical to attracting long-term investment and deepening Nigeria’s capital market.
At the event themed The Nigerian Capital Market as a Catalyst for Equitable and Inclusive Growth, the Minister noted that delays in resolving commercial disputes remain one of the biggest obstacles to investment, noting that cases currently take an average of 15 years to progress through the High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court.
He pointed out that such prolonged litigation creates uncertainty, discourages investors and significantly increases the cost of doing business in Nigeria.
To address the challenge, the Minister proposed a dedicated Commercial Dispute Resolution Tribunal staffed by judges and arbitrators with specialised expertise in commercial, financial and capital market matters.
Mr Oyedele said the tribunal should operate with digital case management systems and mandatory timelines to ensure swift resolution of disputes involving businesses, suppliers, joint venture partners and other commercial entities.
He explained that the proposed tribunal would complement existing investment protection mechanisms by providing a more efficient avenue for resolving commercial disagreements that often delay investments and weaken investor confidence.
The Minister stressed that virtually every financial instrument—including bonds, syndicated loans, private placements and structured notes—is founded on enforceable contracts, making speedy dispute resolution essential for the growth of the capital market.
Beyond judicial reforms, he urged Nigerians to reconsider their long-held perception of public borrowing, insisting that debt should be judged by what it finances rather than by its size.
He argued that borrowing is not inherently harmful and should instead be viewed as a financial tool capable of supporting economic growth when channelled into productive investments.
“The relevant question is never simply how much debt there is. It is always debt for what, at what cost, against what return and repayable on what terms,” he stated, criticising the tendency among analysts and commentators to condemn every instance of government borrowing without examining whether the funds are being invested in projects capable of generating sustainable economic returns.
According to him, governments and businesses that borrow to finance productive assets yielding returns above the cost of capital are making rational financial decisions, adding that refusing to borrow under such conditions could amount to foregoing valuable development opportunities.
The Minister also challenged the mindset of many Nigerian entrepreneurs who resist bringing in external investors in order to retain full ownership of their businesses, noting that owning 100 per cent of a small enterprise often creates less value than holding a substantial stake in a much larger and well-capitalised company.
The Minister further outlined what he described as the “seven laws of capital attraction,” emphasising that investors are primarily attracted by trust, policy consistency, strong institutions and the rule of law rather than generous tax incentives.
He said capital seeks predictable returns instead of merely pursuing the highest returns, warning that countries with unstable policies often lose investment to jurisdictions offering lower but more reliable returns.
“Capital hates uncertainty more than taxation,” he said, attributing investor hesitation to policy reversals, regulatory inconsistencies, foreign exchange uncertainty and weak contract enforcement.
According to him, investors commit long-term capital to countries with credible institutions rather than to individual political leaders.
He identified an independent judiciary, a credible central bank and an efficient public bureaucracy as critical pillars for attracting sustainable investment.
The Minister also urged government officials, professionals and the media to improve communication around economic reforms, arguing that Nigeria often pays what he described as a “perception premium” because positive policy changes are poorly communicated to investors.
He maintained that attracting long-term capital requires not only sound economic policies but also stronger institutions, policy consistency, efficient justice delivery and a shift in public attitudes towards debt and private investment.
Meanwhile, the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr Emomotimi Agama, called for stronger collaboration between regulators and academics, saying research-driven policymaking is essential for strengthening Nigeria’s capital market and promoting inclusive economic growth.
Speaking during the opening of the conference, Mr Agama described the Capital Market Academics of Nigeria as an important bridge between academic research and financial market regulation.
“I have long believed that good regulation begins with good thinking. The policies we make at SEC are only ever as strong as the evidence and the ideas that inform them,” he said.
According to him, research generated through academic conferences, journals and peer-reviewed studies provides the foundation for evidence-based regulation capable of responding to the evolving needs of Nigeria’s financial markets.
He said the agency regards academics as strategic partners whose ideas can shape policies that strengthen investor confidence and support market development, adding that Nigeria’s capital market is undergoing major reforms following the enactment of the Investments and Securities Act, 2025, and the implementation of a new 10-year Capital Market Master Plan.
He said the reforms require rigorous research, constructive scrutiny and honest debate to ensure that regulatory policies remain responsive to emerging realities and aligned with global best practices.
The SEC chief also commended CMAN for choosing a conference theme focused on equitable and inclusive growth, describing it as timely and relevant to Nigeria’s economic development agenda.
He urged participants to ensure that their deliberations produce practical recommendations capable of influencing policymaking and improving market operations.
“The commission’s door is open to evidence, to challenge and to fresh ideas, wherever they may lead. The finest measure of these two days will not be the sessions we hold, but the policies and the practices they go on to shape,” Mr Agama said.
He reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to working closely with the academic community to advance knowledge, strengthen regulation and support the sustainable development of Nigeria’s capital market.
On his part, the president of the Capital Market Academics of Nigeria (CMAN), Prof. Uche Uwaleke, has called for stronger collaboration between academia and the financial services industry, saying closer partnerships are essential to deepening Nigeria’s financial markets and accelerating economic growth.
Mr Uwaleke said Nigeria possesses abundant intellectual capacity within its universities and extensive practical expertise across its financial institutions, but lacks a structured framework to connect both sectors for national development.
According to him, countries with resilient financial systems have succeeded by fostering continuous collaboration among universities, regulators, government agencies and industry players.
He described CMAN as Nigeria’s leading financial markets think tank, established to ensure that academic research goes beyond scholarly publications to provide practical solutions to the country’s economic challenges.
To bridge the gap between academia and industry, Mr Uwaleke urged the Federal Ministry of Education and the National Universities Commission (NUC) to recognise industry experience alongside academic publications in the appointment and promotion of lecturers in professionally oriented disciplines such as Banking, Finance, Insurance, Accounting and Capital Market Studies.
He also recommended that universities deliberately recruit accomplished retired bankers, investment professionals and capital market practitioners as adjunct lecturers to enrich teaching, strengthen curriculum relevance and better prepare graduates for the workplace.
According to him, the NUC should reinforce the initiative by awarding accreditation points to academic programmes that successfully integrate experienced industry practitioners into their faculties.
The CMAN president further called on financial sector regulators, including the Central Bank of Nigeria, Securities and Exchange Commission, National Insurance Commission, National Pension Commission and the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation, to institutionalise structured sabbatical and research fellowship opportunities for qualified academics.
He said such programmes would enable scholars to undertake policy-oriented research while giving regulators access to independent expertise capable of improving policy formulation and regulatory effectiveness.
Mr Uwaleke also proposed the establishment of a Financial Markets Research Partnership to be championed by the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of National Planning.
He said the initiative should bring together regulators, universities and industry players to commission research on critical national priorities, including capital market development, infrastructure finance, pension reforms, insurance penetration, financial inclusion and sustainable finance.
In addition, he appealed to the National Assembly to support policies that encourage collaboration between universities and industry through incentives for financial institutions investing in research partnerships and university-based financial market research centres.
Mr Uwaleke commended SEC, the Bank of Industry, Cowry Asset Management Limited and the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers for already providing sabbatical opportunities to CMAN members.
He reaffirmed the association’s commitment to serving as a bridge between academia, government, regulators and industry through independent research, policy advice and intellectual support aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s financial system and driving sustainable economic transformation.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Senate has passed a bill to repeal and re-enact the law establishing the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), paving the way for the regulatory agency to be renamed the Insurance Regulatory Commission (IRC).
The legislation, titled the Insurance Regulatory Commission (Establishment) Bill, 2026, was passed after the Senate considered and adopted the report of its committee on banking, insurance and other financial institutions.
The Chairman of the committee, Mr Adetokunbo Abiru, the senator representing Lagos East, who presented the report, stated that the proposed legislation was necessary because the existing National Insurance Commission Act of 1997 had become outdated and no longer reflected the realities of Nigeria’s evolving insurance industry or global regulatory standards.
According to the Senate, the decision to change the Commission’s name was informed by the need to eliminate confusion associated with the existing designation and to better reflect the institution’s regulatory mandate within Nigeria’s insurance industry.
The bill also provides legal protection for the commission and its officers against adverse claims arising from the lawful execution of their statutory duties.
However, he noted that the commission’s enabling law had become obsolete, exposing significant regulatory gaps that required urgent legislative intervention.
‘The current National Insurance Commission Act 1997 is outdated and does not adequately address the emerging economic growth, needs and development of the insurance business,” the lawmaker said.
He explained that the new legislation seeks to strengthen the independence of the commission by empowering it to make regulatory decisions without undue influence in the country’s insurance sector.
According to him, the bill also enhances the commission’s authority to exchange information and collaborate with domestic and international regulatory bodies, issue regulations, guidelines, standards and directives on insurance-related matters, and intervene more effectively in financially distressed insurance companies to protect policyholders and preserve financial stability.
This marks yet another move to strengthen the country’s insurance sector following the enactment of the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) of 2025 and the industry-wide recapitalisation exercise, which will wrap up by July 31.
By Adedapo Adesanya
About 143 companies that successfully passed the technical and prequalification stages of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission’s (NUPRC) 2025 Licensing Round will, today, compete for 50 oil and gas blocks at the commercial bid conference in Abuja, the final stage in the allocation process for the assets.
The commission said only the prequalified companies have been invited to attend the event, which will hold at the Conference Centre of the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, stressing that participation is strictly by invitation.
The commercial bid conference will determine the successful bidders for oil and gas assets located across Nigeria’s producing and frontier basins.
The 50 blocks comprise 16 onshore blocks and 18 shallow water blocks in the Niger Delta, one deep offshore block, three onshore blocks in the Benin Basin, four in the Anambra Basin, four in the Chad Basin, and four in the Benue Trough.
According to the commission, the winning bids will be determined through a transparent evaluation process based on clearly defined commercial parameters. These include the signature bonus offered by bidders, the proposed work programme commitment and the level of performance security provided. The final selection will be based on a weighted technical and commercial score.
The licensing round is being conducted under the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, which requires a transparent and competitive process for the award of petroleum assets.
NUPRC had announced the commencement of the 2025 Licensing Round on November 11, 2025, before opening the online bid portal on December 1, 2025, to enable interested companies to register and participate in the exercise.
To ensure prospective investors fully understood the requirements, the commission organised a pre-bid conference on January 14, 2026, at Eko Hotels and Suites, Lagos. The event provided detailed explanations on the licensing guidelines and bidding procedures to registered participants and other stakeholders.
Registration and submission of prequalification documents closed on February 27, 2026, while the prequalification evaluation was completed on March 16, 2026.
NUPRC disclosed that 286 companies initially submitted applications for prequalification.
Following the evaluation process, 196 companies were cleared to participate in the technical and commercial bid stages.
The prequalified 143 companies eventually submitted a total of 200 bids for the available oil and gas blocks. These companies are now set to compete at the commercial bid conference, where the financial offers will be opened and evaluated to determine the eventual winners.
The licensing round is expected to attract fresh investment into Nigeria’s upstream petroleum sector, boost exploration activities across both producing and frontier basins, increase crude oil and gas reserves, and support the country’s drive to grow production and government revenue.
It also underscores the regulator’s commitment to implementing a transparent, competitive and investor-friendly licensing regime under the Petroleum Industry Act.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has retained all key monetary policy parameters following the conclusion of its two-day meeting on July 21, 2026, on Tuesday, maintaining its tight monetary policy stance to curb inflation and support macroeconomic stability.
According to the Governor of the apex bank, Mr Yemi Cardoso, who chaired the committee, the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), which serves as the benchmark interest rate, remains at 26.50 per cent. The MPC also retained the asymmetric corridor around the MPR at +50 basis points and -450 basis points.
In addition, the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) for commercial banks was left unchanged at 45.00 per cent, while the CRR for merchant banks remains at 16.00 per cent. The committee also retained the CRR on non-Treasury Single Account (Non-TSA) public sector deposits at 75.00 per cent, with the liquidity ratio at 30.00 per cent.
The decision reflects the apex bank’s continued commitment to containing inflationary pressures through a restrictive monetary policy while safeguarding the resilience of Nigeria’s financial system amid ongoing macroeconomic adjustments.
By keeping all policy tools unchanged, the MPC signalled its intention to continue managing excess liquidity in the banking sector and maintain stability in financial markets.
The move is also expected to provide greater policy certainty for investors and businesses monitoring the country’s monetary policy direction.
The latest decision also means borrowing costs are likely to remain elevated in the near term as the central bank continues to prioritise price stability over monetary easing.
Analysts had expected the CBN committee to retain the rate after Nigeria’s headline inflation came in at 15.91 per cent as of June 2026, marking a slight decline from 15.93 per cent in May.
However, even as overall price growth has moderated significantly compared to previous periods, food inflation remains a persistent challenge, accelerating to 17.52 per cent in June.
