Disciplined ISA 2025 execution key to $1tn economy— GTI Group

The Group Managing Director of GTI Group, Abubakar Lawal, has said that Nigeria’s aspiration to build a $1tn economy by 2030 will remain out of reach unless the Investments and Securities Act 2025 is implemented with strict discipline, strategic coordination, and unwavering collaboration across the capital market ecosystem.

Lawal said this at the 2025 annual conference of the Capital Market Correspondents Association of Nigeria in Lagos on Saturday.

The PUNCH reports that President Bola Tinubu earlier this year signed the ISA 2025, which expanded the legal instruments that are tradable in the capital market with the recognition of digital assets and cryptocurrencies.

Lawal, who was represented at the event by the Managing Director of GTI Capital, Mr Kehinde Hassan, stressed that clarity, consistency, and synergy among regulators, operators, and market stakeholders are vital if the Act is to serve as the bedrock of Nigeria’s trillion-dollar ambition.

According to him, the country has reached a critical phase where fragmented efforts and isolated initiatives can no longer be accommodated:

“What Nigeria requires now is a unified roadmap, one that integrates ISA 2025 into the broader architecture of the nation’s economic vision.”

Lawal maintained that with disciplined execution, cross-institutional cooperation, sustained public education, and responsible innovation, Nigeria could not only meet but surpass its $1tn economic target while achieving long-term socio-economic benefits.

Describing ISA 2025 as a transformational reform, he said the legislation offers more than regulatory rules, providing structure, tools, and opportunities for national development. However, he cautioned that even the best-crafted laws remain ineffective without intentional follow-through. He urged regulators to apply fairness and foresight, while operators embrace innovation anchored on responsibility.

Lawal also underscored the need for widespread investor education to unlock the Act’s transformative potential. Awareness efforts, he said, must reach all regions to ensure that investors understand their rights, entrepreneurs recognise new opportunities, and the general public is aware of protections embedded in the new regulatory regime.

Highlighting key reforms within ISA 2025, he noted the recognition of digital and virtual assets, classification of investment contracts as securities, expansion of eligible issuers, establishment of specialised exchanges, broadening of non-interest instruments including sukuk, strengthening of commodities exchanges, and enhancement of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s regulatory powers.

He said these reforms collectively support the $1tn economic agenda and significantly enhance youth inclusion, especially through digital asset recognition.

With over 60 per cent of the population comprising young people, Lawal described Nigerian youths as digital natives whose creativity and technological fluency can drive the next phase of economic growth. ISA 2025, he said, gives this demographic legitimacy and meaningful engagement within the financial system.

He concluded that if Nigeria executes the reform era with unity and determination, the nation would not only reinvent its economy but also inspire the African continent, demonstrating what is possible when national ambition is matched with decisive action.