INTERVIEW | Just six months after adopting a T+2 settlement cycle, Nigeria has moved to T+1. Shehu Shantali, chief executive officer of the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS), will share the country’s experience at the PostTrade 360 conference from 2–3 September 2026 in an Africa-focused session. In this interview, he reflects on the journey to T+1, the transformation that made it possible, and what the future holds for African capital markets.
On 1 June 2026, Nigeria’s capital market transitioned to a T+1 securities settlement cycle following a market-wide initiative led by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and implemented in close collaboration with stakeholders including CSCS, exchanges, brokers, custodians, registrars, settlement banks.
The move represents a significant milestone in the ongoing modernisation of Nigeria’s capital-market infrastructure and reinforces the country’s commitment to aligning with evolving global standards.
“What we achieved was not simply a technology project or an operational change. It was a market-wide transformation requiring coordination, commitment, and a shared vision among all participants.”
In this interview, Shantali shares several important lessons that other markets and market infrastructures can learn from Nigeria’s experience.
From vision to implementation
The foundation for a shorter settlement cycle was laid through the Nigerian Capital Market Master Plan, which identified market efficiency, liquidity enhancement, and global competitiveness as critical priorities for the country’s capital-market development.
At the time of publication in 2021, Nigeria operated a T+3 settlement cycle. While the fixed-income market had demonstrated relatively high levels of efficiency, stakeholders increasingly recognised the need to modernise equity-market settlement processes in order to reduce risk, improve liquidity, and meet the expectations of a rapidly evolving investment community.
The formal journey began in 2023 when the SEC established a market-wide committee comprising representatives from the regulator, exchanges, CSCS, brokers, custodians, registrars, and other key participants. The committee was tasked with evaluating market readiness for a shorter settlement cycle and developing an implementation roadmap.
Over the following three years, stakeholders conducted extensive consultations, technology assessments, operational reviews, market simulations, readiness exercises, and implementation planning sessions. The outcome was a phased approach designed to allow market participants sufficient time to adapt their processes and infrastructure.
The market successfully migrated from T+3 to T+2 in November 2025 before completing the transition to T+1 six months later.
“From the outset, the plan was always to progress to T+1,” explains Shantali. “The move to T+2 gave us an opportunity to validate our assumptions, identify operational gaps, and strengthen the framework before taking the next step.”
Why T+1 matters
For Shantali, the benefits of a shorter settlement cycle are both practical and strategic. “T+1 reduces counterparty exposure, lowers settlement risk, improves liquidity, and allows capital to be recycled more quickly throughout the market,” he states. “Ultimately, it creates a more efficient environment for investors.”
Market trends further strengthened the case for change. CSCS data reveals a new trend in the market, with approximately 87% of daily transactions comprising relatively small-value trades, reflecting increasing participation by retail investors. At the same time, around 67% of investors are between the ages of 18 and 35. “When a significant portion of your investor base is young and digitally connected, expectations change,” observes Shantali. “Investors increasingly expect speed, transparency, and immediate access to their capital. Market infrastructure must evolve to meet those expectations.”
For both institutional and retail participants, shorter settlement cycles improve liquidity management, reduce uncertainty, and enhance the overall investment experience.
Addressing operational realities
The transition to T+1 required extensive preparation across the market.
While stakeholders broadly supported the strategic direction, many raised important operational questions regarding readiness within a compressed settlement timeframe.
Among the key concerns were manual processes that remained embedded within parts of the post-trade lifecycle. Under a T+1 environment, delays in trade confirmation, contract-note transmission, funding arrangements, and settlement instruction processing can quickly become sources of settlement risk.
Foreign portfolio investors and custodians also highlighted challenges associated with funding timelines, foreign-exchange processing, and the multiple handoffs often required between global custodians, local custodians, brokers, banks, and market infrastructure providers.
“These were legitimate concerns,” notes Shantali. “The conversation was never about resisting change. It was about ensuring that the market could transition successfully while maintaining operational resilience.”
Through continuous engagement, industry-wide testing, process redesign, and enhanced coordination among participants, many of these concerns were systematically addressed before implementation.
“In many respects, those discussions strengthened the programme because they forced us to focus on practical execution rather than simply the destination,” reflects Shantali.
Technology as the enabler
Technology played a central role in the transition. Over the past several years, CSCS has undertaken a broad modernisation programme that includes straight-through processing capabilities, API-driven integrations, enhanced connectivity with custodians and brokers, digital self-service platforms, and upgrades to core settlement infrastructure.
The organisation also expanded processing capacity, strengthened business continuity arrangements, and enhanced cybersecurity capabilities to support a more connected operating environment.
Recognising that industry-wide adoption would be critical to success, CSCS considered making API integration capabilities available to market participants without additional charges, helping accelerate connectivity and automation across the ecosystem.
“Technology investment is not a one-time exercise,” notes Shantali. “Capital markets continue to evolve, and market infrastructure must evolve alongside them.”
At the same time, increased automation creates new responsibilities. “The more connected and digital a market becomes, the more important cybersecurity becomes. Efficiency and resilience must advance together.”
Three key lessons
At the PostTrade 360 conference, Shantali plans to focus on three key lessons from Nigeria’s experience.
The first is about stakeholder engagement. “Successful market reform requires continuous communication, education, and collaboration,” he states. “People support transformation when they understand both the rationale and the implementation plan.”
The second lesson concerns sustained technology investment. “Modern capital markets cannot operate efficiently without ongoing investment in infrastructure, automation, and connectivity. Technology is now a strategic necessity.”
The third lesson is about centres on resilience. “Market confidence depends not only on speed but also on reliability, security, and operational robustness,” observes Shantali. “As markets become more digital, resilience becomes increasingly important.”
Underlying all three lessons is the need for collaboration. “The bi-weekly engagement sessions involving regulators, exchanges, brokers, custodians, registrars, and CSCS created a forum where challenges could be identified and resolved collectively. That spirit of partnership was fundamental to the success of the programme.”
Beyond T+1
For Nigeria, T+1 is not the end of the journey. Recent legislative and regulatory developments have established a framework for digital and virtual assets, creating new opportunities for market innovation and infrastructure development.
CSCS is evaluating how best to support these emerging asset classes while continuing to strengthen the country’s post-trade ecosystem.
In the long term, the industry is beginning to explore what future settlement models could look like in an increasingly digital environment. “Same-day and even atomic settlement are becoming part of the global conversation,” observes Shantali. “While those developments remain a longer-term consideration, they reflect the direction in which markets are moving.”
Achieving that future may involve new technologies, including distributed-ledger and blockchain-based solutions, alongside continued advances in automation and interoperability.
An African perspective
The significance of Nigeria’s transition extends beyond national borders. “One of the key challenges facing African capital markets is interoperability,” notes Shantali. “Greater alignment across markets can help reduce friction, improve efficiency, and support cross-border investment flows.”
CSCS is already engaging with market infrastructures across the continent to exchange experiences and explore opportunities for greater harmonisation.
“Our objective is not simply to operate a successful T+1 environment in Nigeria. We want to contribute to broader discussions about African market integration and stronger connectivity with global capital markets.”
For Shantali, the vision remains clear. “The purpose of capital markets is to serve investors. When markets become more efficient, accessible, resilient, and interconnected, investors benefit,” he states. “And when investors benefit, the entire ecosystem grows stronger. That is the future we are working towards.”
• For more information about the PostTrade 360° conference 2-3 September 2026 and to register, click here
