The Federal Government of Nigeria has announced that selected Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) Bonds have been included in J.P. Morgan’s newly introduced Government Bond Index–Emerging Markets Edge (GBI-EM Edge), a benchmark tracking local-currency government debt across frontier emerging markets.

The announcement, made by the Federal Ministry of Finance on September 14, 2026, said the inclusion reflects the impact of the government’s economic reforms, including naira stabilisation, clearance of the foreign exchange backlog, and improvements in economic growth and inflation.

‎According to the ministry, Nigeria met the index’s key eligibility requirements of liquidity and issuance size. It said FGN Bonds are actively traded under a Two-Way Quote System, while outstanding volumes per tenor are above the $250 million minimum required for inclusion in the GBI-EM Edge.

‎Nigeria will have a 7.40 per cent weighting in the index, one of the highest among the 26 markets covered and close to J.P. Morgan’s maximum country weighting of eight per cent. The development marks Nigeria’s return to a J.P. Morgan benchmark more than a decade after the country exited the GBI-EM Global Diversified Index in 2015.

The ministry said Nigeria’s earlier inclusion in the GBI-EM in 2012 attracted significant foreign investment into the domestic securities market and reduced the cost of issuance by about 200 basis points. It added that the move also supported foreign capital participation in the equities and banking sectors and helped boost external reserves.

The GBI-EM Edge currently tracks about $328 billion in local-currency government debt globally. Nigeria’s 7.40 per cent allocation represents approximately $17.47 billion of eligible FGN debt across 16 instruments, with index-tracking funds expected to adjust their portfolios to reflect the country’s weighting.

The Federal Ministry of Finance said the increased participation of foreign institutional investors could support higher bond prices and gradually reduce domestic yields, thereby helping to moderate the government’s cost of servicing naira-denominated debt. It added that improved liquidity in the FGN bond market could also have positive effects across the wider domestic debt market, including Nigerian Treasury Bills.

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, described the inclusion as an independent endorsement of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s reform agenda, saying it reflects increased international confidence in Nigeria’s economic management. Oyedele, however, said the government remained focused on the reforms required to achieve full reinstatement in J.P. Morgan’s flagship index.