President Bola Tinubu has signed the Presidential Executive Order on Virtual Assets Coordination, 2026, establishing a new framework for Nigeria's virtual assets sector. The order creates a dedicated council to harmonize oversight across financial regulatory agencies, effective immediately.
The announcement was made on July 17, 2025, by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy. The order is grounded in Section 5 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as altered).
Why the Order Was Signed
According to the presidency, Nigeria's fragmented regulatory environment for virtual assets exposed the country to money laundering, terrorism financing, cybersecurity threats, data privacy risks, fraud, and revenue losses. Unregistered and fraudulent operators exploited gaps between agencies, sometimes wiping out entire family savings.
The order aims to close these gaps through supervisory coordination without creating new bureaucratic layers or overriding existing agency mandates.
The Virtual Asset Council
At the center of the new framework is the Virtual Asset Council, chaired by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) serve as vice-chairs. The Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) are also members, as reported by Premium Times.
The Council will set policy direction and work with the Attorney-General of the Federation to develop a harmonized legal and institutional framework aligned with Nigeria's national security, economic, and social goals.
A Virtual Asset Office will serve as the Council's operational arm, with its secretariat housed at the CBN. The Office will coordinate day-to-day information sharing, application processing, and reporting across agencies through an integrated supervisory technology platform.
No new regulator is created, and no agency loses existing powers. Registration of virtual asset activities follows the nature of the activity: securities-related activities fall under the SEC, while payment, settlement, custody, and related services involving non-security virtual assets fall under the CBN. The Council will adjudicate unclear cases.
Sandbox, Tax Policy, and White Paper
The CBN is proceeding with a regulatory sandbox for virtual assets, offering eligible operators a supervised environment to test products, services, and blockchain-based solutions before public rollout. The Bank will publish further details separately.
The NRS is preparing a tax policy for the virtual assets sector to provide certainty for taxpayers and service providers and ensure the sector contributes to national revenue. A comprehensive Virtual Assets White Paper outlining Nigeria's longer-term policy direction is also being finalized by the federal government, according to Leadership reports.
The Council has been directed to produce a Harmonised Implementation Framework within 30 days to guide all participating agencies in executing the order.
Related Actions
Legit.ng previously reported that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) directed all capital market operators to freeze assets of 10 individuals and three organizations accused of financing terrorism. The action followed the Nigeria Sanctions Committee's designation under the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, in a circular addressed to capital market operators.
