...$17.47bn FGN debt eligible; Nigeria gets 7.4% weighting. Nigeria is set to attract fresh foreign capital into its domestic debt market following the decision by J.P. Morgan to return Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) bonds to its bond index under the newly introduced Government Bond Index-Emerging Markets Edge (GBI-EM Edge). The development is expected to boost demand for Nigerian government securities, deepen liquidity and help drive down domestic borrowing costs as global index-tracking funds adjust portfolios to accommodate Nigeria's new 7.40% weighting.
Nigeria's inclusion marks the country's return to a J.P. Morgan benchmark for the first time in more than a decade; Nigeria exited the GBI-EM Global Diversified Index in 2015 amid FX liquidity constraints. The Federal Government said reforms - stabilisation of the naira and clearance of FX backlogs - addressed previous constraints. FGN bonds trade under a Two-Way Quote System with outstanding volumes well above the $250m minimum.
With 7.40% weighting Nigeria ranks among the highest of 26 markets covered, close to the 8% maximum; the index tracks about $328 billion of local-currency government debt. Nigeria's allocation translates to roughly $17.47 billion of eligible FGN debt across 16 instruments, expected to bring additional foreign portfolio inflows and compress yields. Minister of Finance Taiwo Oyedele: 'This inclusion is a clear, independent endorsement of the discipline behind President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's reform agenda.'
FGN bonds were first included in the GBI-EM in 2012, which cut debt issuance costs by about 200 basis points. Source: vanguardngr.com/2026/09/j-p-morgan-returns-nigeria-to-bond-index-after-11-years/
