Dike Onwuamaeze

The Director General of the Nigeria-China Strategic Partnership (NCSP), Mr. Joseph Tegbe, has revealed that Nigeria has received over $30 billion in investment commitments and 300 expressions of interest from different Chinese companies within the last five months.

He said the country will soon sign a pact on ‘Digital RMB’ with China to enable a direct conversion of Naira to Chinese Yuan, thereby reducing the country’s dependency on the Dollar.

Tegbe said that this is in furtherance of the transition of Nigeria’s relationship with China from a trade relationship to a mutually-beneficial development partnership.

He emphasised that the objectives of the NCSP is to, “drive infrastructure development, scale up investments from China, strengthen Nigerian-China trade and economic relations, promote knowledge and economic transparency, and also advance cultural exchanges between the two nations.”

He said this at the recent, “Digital Asset Markets Strategy Masterclass Series,” that was held in Lagos to deliberate on the Investment and Securities Act (ISA) 2025, which was signed into law in March 2025.

The ISA 2025 empowers the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to oversee digital assets, virtual asset service providers (VASPs), and tokenised securities, thereby bringing clarity to a space that has operated in a legal grey area for years.

Experts and policy makers have stated that the ISA has placed the country as a major player in the 4th Industrial Revolution.

Tegbe noted the importance of leveraging Chinese technology, particularly in digital asset market and knowledge transfer.

He assured that the NCSP is dedicated to supporting the globalisation of Nigeria’s capital market.  

Speaking during the event, the Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who was represented by the Lagos State Commissioner of Finance, Abayomi Oluyomi, revealed that the state would be the first sub-national to monetise idle assets and raise a green bond to fund infrastructural development within the state.   

In his address, the Convener of the Masterclass, Dr. Nicholas Okoye, noted that the digital transformation driving the fourth industrial revolution has touched every industry and is projected to create monumental fortunes for wealth-conscious investors, institutions, nations, and sub-nationals.

Okoye, who is an investment advisor, stated that the most strategic ecosystem of this digital transformation has got to be Digital Asset Markets, which includes investment in cryptocurrencies as well as the tokenisation (digitisation) of traditional asset classes.

He said: “The proposed full adoption of ‘Digital Asset Markets’ in Nigeria’s capital markets and subsequently across Africa is going to be a game changer for wealth creation and economic growth sustainability. In addition, it will completely redefine the future of African finance, investment and capital market industries.”

According to him, the digital assets provide a golden opportunity for Africans to create wealth for all her people, regardless of their vocation and regardless of wherever on the planet they may live.

“The Digital asset markets will provide, for the first time in Nigeria and Africa’s history, a rare and unique opportunity for a true measure and a true reflection of Nigeria’s and subsequently Africa’s entire wealth position,” he said.