Business
Nigeria’s Booming Forex Trading Industry: A Risky But Lucrative Venture For Traders
Forex trading has been on the rise in Africa, with Nigeria being the second-largest retail online forex market on the continent.
However, the absence of specific regulations makes traders vulnerable to scams and fraudulent activities. South Africa leads the way with a lesser but still significant number of 190,000 daily forex traders.
Despite the lack of regulations, the Nigerian forex industry has garnered a lot of interest from online traders, investors, and international brokerage firms.
According to Temitope Ijibadejo, the Nigeria Regional Manager of CM Trading, a licensed international brokerage and contract for difference (CFD) provider, the Nigerian forex industry is a “very buoyant one.”
He said the number of active Nigerian forex traders exceeds 300,000 with net deposits in billions of Naira annually.
In a 2021 report, it was estimated that there were roughly 300,000 retail forex traders in Nigeria, and there has been a substantial rise (46%) in female traders over the past couple of years.
Forex trading involves converting one national currency into another, and the most common currency pairs include GBP/USD and EUR/USD.
In Nigeria, the most common currency to trade with is the USD, which accounts for around 90% of Nigeria’s forex activity. Nigeria is a producer of crude oil, which is sold in dollars.
When prices increased in the 1970s, Nigeria saw a nice economic boost. This increase led to a growing interest in Africa in trading in dollars.
Since 2020, forex trading has seen a roughly 300% growth, and the majority of traders’ accounts (60%) are from Africa, Southeast Asia, and Eastern Europe.
However, the Central Bank of Nigeria July 2021 announced that it will no longer sell forex to Bureau De Change operators, saying the parallel market has become a conduit for illicit forex flows and graft.
According to the announcement, weekly sales of foreign exchange by the CBN will go directly to commercial banks. Banks are mandated to immediately and transparently sell forex to customers who present the required documents, and customers not attended to by the banks are to report to the CBN through a toll-free number or email.
In August 2016, the CBN banned nine deposit money banks (DMBs) from the foreign exchange market, for hiding over $2 billion belonging to Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) from the Treasury Single Account (TSA).
President Muhammadu Buhari was briefed on the breach by the banks, and all nine had been mandated to move the monies to the treasury single account.
The CBN also warned that banks that did not comply with the TSA remission plan would face possible fines and stringent punishment. This was made during the full implementation of the TSA in 2015.
As the naira continues spiraling downwards, the CBN is looking for a solution to stop the currency from hitting the bottom. However, despite its efforts, the regulator has been accused of not taking responsibility.
In response, the CBN has argued that the issue is not a result of its policies, but rather a reflection of external economic factors.
In September 2021, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) accused AbokiFX, an exchange rates aggregator, of manipulating Nigeria’s foreign exchange market.
According to the CBN, AbokiFX was responsible for promoting the exchange of the naira for foreign currencies on the black market, which it claimed was fueling inflation and harming the economy.
In July 2022, the CBN issued a statement warning that it would arrest and prosecute anyone using naira to buy dollars, citing a law that prohibits the use of the Nigerian currency to transact business outside the country.
The CBN claimed that the use of naira for such transactions was undermining the stability of the country’s foreign exchange market and contributing to the depreciation of the currency.
“For those taking money from banks to buy dollars, it is illegal to do so. If the security agencies hold you, you will know the implication of that,” Godwin Emefiele said.
However all this measures did not stop the increase in the forex world as Nigeria forex trader find ways to remain in the forex world.
To get more insights, Biztellers interviewed a forex trader known as Yolofx who spoke about his ordeal in the forex world.
Yolofx is a trader with 10k followers on instagram, and 2k followers on Twitter. He also offers mentorship programs for aspiring traders which requires payment.
He said ” Forex trading is not for everyone as it requires taking risk, consistency and patience. Consistency to me means doing it all over again regardless of the losses incured. I started trading since 2017 till date making it 6 years In the forex world. It has not been easy as it drastically affected my academics. I had to spend extra one year in school because I was not focus rather I gave my all in learning the forex”
According to him, to enter into the forex world, one requires a broker who serves as a middleman between a trader and the commercial bank.
He said “there are various brokers in the forex world, since I started trading I have used 5 different brokers but presently am using exness broker and to me it has been the best so far”
When asked about the legitimacy of the forex trade, he stated that forex trade is very much legit as it requires a verification process before entering the market.
He said “to verify your account in forex trade, you need to have proof of identity which is either your international passport or National Identity Number and also proof of residence which requires your bank statement that is not less that 6 months”
He went further to say “to tell you how complex and risky the forex world is, you can make 500k in a week or two and lose the entire money in a day” He added.
According to him, forex trade has changed his financial status as he has not searched for a job since after graduating from Higher institution.
Uche Paragon, who began his trading career in 2007, has become Nigeria’s richest currency trader with an estimated net worth of over $16 to 20 million.
Chevron Nigeria won the second-best exhibitor award at the just-concluded 2026 Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE) conference and exhibition at Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Biztellers reports that Olajumoke Cecilia Ajayi, FNAPE, NAPE President (2025–2026) and Managing Director/CEO of Ingentia Energies Limited, presented the award to Chevron, during the awards dinner on November 12, 2026.
The award is in recognition of Chevron’s outstanding exhibition, where visitors to its booth, particularly students, took part in Geology/Geophysics presentations and quizzes, word games, and Human Resources/Nigerian Content presentations and quizzes, with gifts for winners and participants.
Commenting on the award, the leader of the Chevron’s exhibition team, Dr. Victor Anyaegbudike, Manager Communications, Chevron companies in Nigeria and the Mid Africa Region, commended NAPE for its commitment to hosting the annual conference and exhibition. He noted that Chevron has operated in Nigeria for over 60 years, contributing to the country’s growth and development and making human investments that yield long-term, transformative returns.
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“At Chevron Nigeria, we drive innovation and investment to open up opportunities for growth, jobs, productivity and lasting value. Forums like the NAPE conference and exhibition matter because they bring government, academia, students and industry together around shared goals and a better understanding of one another,” he remarked.
Victor noted that Chevron is committed to building productive, collaborative and mutually beneficial relationships, grounded in trust, with governments, partners, customers, communities and employees. “We believe that affordable, reliable and ever-cleaner energy is vital to a more prosperous and sustainable world,” he said.
Attendees at the NAPE conference and exhibition included representatives of the Federal Government of Nigeria, industry regulators, industry leaders, academics, and students from tertiary institutions across the country.
The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) recorded a 1.36 per cent weekly gain as its market capitalisation increased to ₦163.80 trillion at the close of trading on Friday, November 13, 2026.
The NGX All-Share Index (ASI) rose to 252,269.16 points, pushing the market’s year-to-date return to 62.11 per cent.
The performance reflected a positive trading week for the equities market, with 43 listed companies recording price appreciation, compared with 29 in the previous week.
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According to the Exchange’s weekly market report, investors traded 8.03 billion shares valued at ₦185.36 billion in 160,836 deals during the week.
This represented a significant increase in trading volume from the 2.83 billion shares exchanged in 192,158 deals in the preceding week, although the total value of transactions declined from ₦208.41 billion.
The Financial Services Industry dominated trading activities, accounting for 4.85 billion shares worth ₦95.79 billion. This represented 60.45 per cent of the total equity turnover volume and 51.68 per cent of turnover value.
The Agriculture Industry followed with 2.24 billion shares valued at ₦22.78 billion, while the Consumer Goods Industry recorded 260.99 million shares worth ₦11.89 billion.
Further details of the market performance showed that 39 equities declined during the week, compared with 57 in the previous week, while 64 equities closed unchanged against 60 recorded in the preceding period.
On the gainers’ chart, Champion Breweries Plc emerged as the best-performing stock, appreciating by 27.27 per cent, while LivingTrust Mortgage Bank Plc recorded the biggest loss, declining by 18.53 per cent.
Meanwhile, trading in Exchange-Traded Products (ETPs) stood at 1.21 million units valued at ₦278.97 million in 3,351 deals, compared with 1.46 million units worth ₦381.82 million in 4,085 deals in the previous week.
The fixed-income segment recorded 156,612 units valued at ₦177.88 million in 41 deals, against 21.99 million units worth ₦20.60 billion in 48 deals recorded in the preceding week.
The Exchange also recorded the listing of two commercial paper instruments issued by Thrive Agric Limited.
The instruments comprised ₦3.17 billion Series 1 (Tranche A) and ₦2.09 billion Series 1 (Tranche B) Commercial Papers, with a combined value of approximately ₦5.26 billion.
Nigeria produced a daily average of 1.687 barrels of crude oil and condensate in October 2026, and met its OPEC quota for the sixth consecutive month.
Data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) showed that in strict crude oil terms (excluding condensate), the country produced an average of 1.51mbpd in October.
This is 101 percent of the 1.5mbpd quota set by OPEC.
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The data, released on Wednesday, also shows that single-day production hit a peak of 1.79 million barrels, while the lowest for the month under review stood at 1.60 million bpd.
The crude oil data (excluding condensate) shows that Nigeria has met its assigned OPEC quota for six straight months, producing 1.53mobpd in May; 1.55mobpd in June; 1.51mobpd in July; 1.5mobpd in August, 1.53mobpd in September and 1.51mobpd in October.
On a month of month basis, however, production dipped by 1.7 percent.
The NUPRC attributed the stable performance in recent months to an enhanced operational stability, supported improved production uptime and crude evacuation efficiency.
The sustained growth recorded in October reflects the continued commitment of operators and industry stakeholders towards improving operational efficiency, maintaining asset integrity, and enhancing production reliability across the Nigerian upstream petroleum sector.
A breakdown of the daily average crude oil and condensate production by terminals/streams during the review month shows that Forcados Terminal accounted for 318.49kbpd while Bonny comes second with 311.02kbpd.
Qua Iboe Terminal recorded an average production of 173.97kbpd of crude oil and condensates while Escravos Oil Terminal posted a daily average of 134.67kbpd.
Bonga ranked as the fifth highest producing terminal, recording an average of 106.65kbpd of crude oil and condensate.
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