Chartered Institute of Directors Nigeria (CIoD) warmly welcomes the encouraging news of Nigeria’s delisting from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Grey List and commends President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, for his administration’s decisive leadership in steering the nation out of the Grey List category.
This milestone represents a significant boost to Nigeria’s global reputation, enhances investor confidence, and alleviates the international business burden associated with the high-risk classification. It also creates new opportunities for growth, income generation, and wealth creation, particularly by improving Nigeria’s access to international financial systems.
Nigeria’s enlistment on the FATF Grey List in 2023 was a major setback in the country’s efforts to confront the multi-dimensional challenges of money laundering, terrorism financing, corruption, and other financial crimes. During this period of increased monitoring, international transactions involving Nigeria were subjected to strict scrutiny, undermining capital inflows and the ease of doing business due to the country’s elevated risk profile.
The recent delisting, therefore, underscores the Federal Government’s commitment to strengthening governance, transparency, and institutional capacity. The comprehensive reforms to address the FATF’s recommendations, particularly through reinforced frameworks for Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT), and Countering Proliferation Financing (CPF), reflect the positive results of coordinated policy action and collaboration among key regulatory agencies and institutions.
IMPLICATIONS OF NEW STATUS FOR NIGERIA
Nigeria’s delisting from the FATF Grey List is both important and timely, coming at a critical juncture when the Federal Government is pursuing economy-wide reforms aimed at restoring macroeconomic stability, strengthening governance, and stimulating sustainable growth. The development will help unlock much-needed investments and reinforce the ongoing reforms strategically designed to attract both domestic and foreign capital. It is particularly timely in supporting the renewed investor confidence observed in the oil and gas, capital market, real estate, and other strategic sectors of the economy. The broader economic and social implications are far-reaching and include the following:
i. Significant Reduction of Cost Deadweight. Nigeria’s improved compliance status will lower the cost of cross-border financial transactions and reduce the risk premium imposed on Nigerian businesses, banks and other entities.
ii. Reputational Gains and Improved Business Outlook. The delisting enhances Nigeria’s global image and reinforces its credibility as a responsible member of the international financial community, improving ease of doing business and fostering international partnership and cooperation at eliminating financial crimes.
iii. Increased Investor Confidence and Capital Inflows. Restoration of confidence in Nigeria’s financial system will stimulate foreign direct and portfolio investments, expand access to international credit markets, and boost private-sector growth.
iv. Strengthened Counter-Terrorism and Crime Prevention. Improved compliance with global AML/CFT/CPF standards will bolster Nigeria’s capacity to combat terrorism financing, money laundering, and cross-border criminal activities.
v. Improve rural contribution to aggregate output. By reducing the capacity of terrorists and armed groups to disrupt production activities, especially in agricultural and resource-rich areas, rural communities can operate in a more secure and stable environment. Improved security will enable increased production, investment, and value addition in rural economies, thereby raising their contribution to aggregate national output.
OUR RECOMMENDATIONS
Delisting from the Grey List remains a significant milestone achievement under the incumbent administration. However, greater efforts are required to ensure not to repeat mistakes of the past that got us there in the first place hence, sustaining the reforms and institutional discipline that made the delisting from the FATF Grey List possible.
As a foremost governance institute, it is our firm belief that the application of good governance practices will consolidate these gains and translate them into measurable socio-economic benefits and impact. We hereby propose the following policy action steps:
· Enhance Corporate Governance and Transparency. It is imperative to adopt corporate governance best practices within both public and private institutions to prevent illicit financial flows and bolster accountability. CIoD Nigeria reaffirms its commitment to supporting directors in the public and private sectors as well as business leaders in embedding transparency and ethical compliance into business operations.
· Sustain International Cooperation. Federal government should continue to maintain proactive engagement with the FATF, GIABA, and other international bodies to strengthen the effectiveness of its AML/CFT ensuring continuous improvement and timely adoption of emerging best practices.
· State Governments Involvement. They should be encouraged to adopt, deploy, and effectively implement the Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT), and Counter-Proliferation Financing (CPF) frameworks within their jurisdictions. This involves establishing state-level coordination mechanisms that align with national standards, facilitate information sharing with federal regulatory bodies, and ensure consistent monitoring of financial transactions across sectors.
· Private Sector Participation. Encourage collaboration between the public and private sectors to sustain Nigeria’s compliance status and strengthen financial system integrity. Facilitate capacity building initiatives for corporate leaders, compliance officers, and SMEs on risk management and governance standards.
· Enhance Technology-Driven Monitoring Systems. Deploy digital solutions to enhance real-time transaction monitoring, data sharing, and analytics to prevent money laundering and financial crimes. Strengthen cybersecurity frameworks to safeguard financial infrastructure.
· Intensify Public Awareness and Stakeholder Engagement. Foster awareness campaigns to educate businesses, financial institutions, and citizens on compliance obligations and the long-term economic benefits of transparency. With strategic communication efforts highlighting Nigeria’s new compliance status with the FATF requirements, the country is now better positioned to receive substantial inflows in form of remittances and foreign investment.
CONCLUSION
The CIoD Nigeria reaffirms its unwavering commitment to promoting ethical leadership, transparency, and good corporate governance as essential pillars for building a resilient and competitive Nigerian economy. This milestone serves as a clarion call for all stakeholders in the public, private and social sectors to align institutional practices with global standards and uphold the ideals of accountability, integrity, and responsible governance.
Continuous engagement among key actors is essential to consolidate these gains and entrench Nigeria’s position as a credible and respected member of the international community.
Otunba Adetokunbo Oyebanji, FCIoD
President and Chairman of Council
25th October 2025.