By Kayode Ogunwale

Sec building new

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), in partnership with the Senate Committee on Capital Markets and Institutions, will convene a national stakeholders’ summit on municipal bonds and Sukuk to boost local government infrastructure development.

According to the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Capital Markets and Institutions, Senator Osita Izunaso, the summit, themed “$1 Trillion Nigerian Economy: Infrastructure Financing through the Capital Market”, will bring together key players from government, regulators, investors, and the private sector to explore how municipal bonds and Sukuk can unlock new funding for roads, healthcare, housing, water, education, and transport at the local government level.

Senator Izunaso stated that these instruments offer sustainable, market-based alternatives to traditional funding and have been successfully deployed globally.

He stressed that empowering local governments through the capital market will reduce reliance on federal allocations, promote fiscal independence, create jobs, and accelerate Nigeria’s progress towards a $1 trillion economy.

Also commenting on the summit, the Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Dr Emomotimi Agama, stated that Nigeria’s infrastructure gap demands capital market solutions such as bonds and Sukuk, which provide long-term funding with stable investor returns.

He said, “The infrastructural gap in Nigeria can be met effectively through capital market funding,” adding that the summit is one of the ways to create awareness among stakeholders on the benefits of municipal bonds and Sukuk, among others.

According to the SEC DG, bonds are essentially long-term debt instruments in any structured economy, geared primarily to guarantee access to potential resources for government or company infrastructure and developmental purposes, while also providing an outlet for investors to enjoy stable returns.

Agama stated that the Nigerian bond market has become more popular, as it is increasingly being embraced by governments and corporate institutions to raise funds for crucial projects, as well as business expansion and working capital requirements.

“In view of the paucity of revenue to finance necessary developmental infrastructure and services in the country in recent times, governments at all levels need to take advantage of the opportunities available in the capital market through the issuance of bonds to access funds for developmental purposes,” he stated.

The summit’s primary goal is to explore how Nigeria can build a robust municipal bond and Sukuk market to support local government infrastructure. It will take place in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, from 29 to 30 September 2025.

By gathering key stakeholders from the public and private sectors, the summit will aim to educate stakeholders on the benefits and potential of municipal bonds and Sukuk as effective financing tools for local governments, and to identify and address challenges faced by local governments in accessing capital markets for infrastructure financing.

The event also seeks to create a comprehensive strategy for developing a well-functioning municipal bond and Sukuk market in Nigeria that is adaptable to the country’s local government framework, while promoting collaboration among government agencies, financial institutions, investors, and other market participants.

This will help create a sustainable financing ecosystem for local governments and provide actionable policy recommendations and regulatory reforms that will enable and facilitate the issuance of municipal bonds and Sukuk by local governments.