As part of efforts to deepen the capital market and unlock value from state-owned assets, the Lagos State Government, through the Ministry of Finance, on Thursday announced plans to issue N1tn worth of asset-backed securities in the first quarter of next year.
The state Commissioner for Finance, Oluyomi Abayomi, who made this disclosure at the Investment Banking Awards Dinner of the Association of Issuing Houses of Nigeria, held in Lagos on Thursday, said the initiative followed the successful completion of a N200bn bond issuance, which he described as a major milestone in the state’s financing and investment strategy.
“One of the instruments that will be introduced in the first quarter of next year is an asset-backed security. We are going to be securitising the assets that we are currently managing, worth over N1tn,” Abayomi said
According to the commissioner, some local government areas in the state would also approach the capital market to issue municipal bonds in the first half of 2026, as part of broader efforts to strengthen sub-national financing and keep the market active and attractive to investors.
Abayomi said Lagos’ financing initiatives are designed to boost investor confidence, enhance liquidity, and provide sustainable funding channels for infrastructure and development projects across the state.
He disclosed that the state’s N200bn 10-year bond and N14.815bn green bond—the first by any subnational government in Nigeria—were both oversubscribed by about 70 per cent.
“We came to the market seeking to raise about N200bn; we ended up raising about N400bn,” he added.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Exchange Limited, Jude Chiemeka, in his own remarks, on the impact of Lagos’ planned instruments on the capital market, said the development would expand the market’s product offerings.
“It’s a good thing because it will help deepen the offering in the capital market. The market has long been dominated by debt and equity instruments, and high interest rates in recent years discouraged long-term bond issuance. Now that inflation and interest rates have been coming down, it creates opportunities for corporates to return to the market,” he said.
According Chiemeka that asset-backed securities would help revitalise dormant assets and create new avenues for capital raising, ultimately strengthening the market from both trading and issuance perspectives.
He also disclosed that the NGX had facilitated the raising of N7.3 trillion year-to-date across various asset classes, noting that the Exchange would remain active in supporting asset-backed securities and municipal bond issuances.
