Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele says Nigeria is aiming for MSCI Emerging Market classification, treating a return to Frontier status as a stepping stone. Speaking at the National Capital Market Conference in Abuja, he said the government is engaging MSCI directly. “MSCI is the real deal for the capital markets,” he said.
MSCI moved Nigeria from Frontier to Standalone status in October 2023 over foreign exchange liquidity and repatriation problems. Oyedele said MSCI has flagged a limited number of outstanding issues that could be resolved within months, but he gave no reclassification date. FTSE Russell separately restored Nigeria’s Frontier classification from 21 September 2026. That decision does not change Nigeria’s MSCI status.
The government is also pursuing renewed inclusion in J.P. Morgan’s flagship government bond index, after Nigeria’s inclusion in the GBI-EM Edge index at a 7.4% weighting.
Source: Nairametrics (20 October 2026).
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