Economy
Worry as Forte Oil Loses 40.26% Barely a Month After Otedola’s Exit
By Dipo Olowookere
The continued dwindling in the fortunes of shares of a once vibrant energy company, Forte Oil Plc, is giving its holders something to seriously worry about.
Last month, billionaire Nigerian businessman, Mr Femi Otedola, announced his exit from the firm after offloading his 75 percent stake to focus on another business venture, Geregu Power.
After his exit from the firm, there was a change in almost the entire management team of Forte Oil.
The oil and gas mogul, while he was announcing his departure from the company, had wished the new owners well, challenging them to take the firm to enviable heights.
“A few years ago, my team and I embarked on an arduous task of transforming a moribund petroleum marketing business, African Petroleum Plc (formerly British Petroleum) into Forte Oil Plc; a leading integrated solutions provider with solid footprints in downstream petroleum marketing, Upstream Services and Power Generation and one in which we built intrinsic value to the benefits of our shareholders.
“In line with my principle of business focus, we have divested from our marketing and upstream businesses and shall from now on focus and consolidate on the gains of our power generation business, Geregu Power Plc.
But since this announcement on Wednesday, June 19, 2019, Business Post observed that Forte Oil shares have lost 40.26 percent at the stock market.
When Mr Otedola left Forte Oil last month, shares of the company were traded at the nation’s stock exchange at N34.65k per unit.
However, at the close of business on Friday, July 12, 2019, they were transacted at N20.70k each, indicating a decline of 40.26 percent or N13.95k.
This huge fall in less than a month is already making some shareholders of the firm to begin to doubt the future of the company.
They wondered why things have been on a free-fall since the departure of Mr Otedola, with insinuations that the businessman might have seen this coming and decided to speak to his legs.
But at the weekend, a source at Forte Oil informed Business Post that though the management and board of the company are greatly concerned by the performance of the firm at the stock market, they are working tirelessly to ensure things change for the better.
“Don’t think the board and management are doing nothing to make things better because this is their main agenda for now. You will begin to see positive changes.
“Remember, they just came on board and they need time to settle down. I can assure you that Forte Oil will bounce back,” the source, who profusely begged not to be named, told Business Post.
Recall that after taking over as the new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Forte Oil Plc, Mr Olu Adeosun, urged shareholders of the energy firm not to offload their shares because better days were staring at them.
He gave this assurance while addressing newsmen in Lagos, saying the new owners of the company have big plans for the company and its shareholders.
According to him, “Our desire for our shareholders is the same as for our customers. We don’t want anyone to go. We want our shareholders to hold on to their shares because we believe, as a long term company, there is better value in the long term and we will return dividends to them.”
He had stressed that the new team plans to consolidate the achievements of the previous management and take advantage of the combined assets at its disposal to improve stakeholders’ wealth and ensures best quality service delivery to its numerous, boasting that Forte Oil Plc will be one of the best things to have happened in this country.
“This is because of the symbiotic strength we are bringing to the sector. It is a very complementary process. The core investors have a wide experience and strength in the upstream with massive exposure to the international trading market; they have a deep trading line with their bankers. They are bulk traders and they are bringing in products.
“Forte Oil has the third largest retail outlets in Nigeria. We are not buying from intermediaries again but we are buying directly from the bulk traders where other intermediaries are buying from.
“We will enjoy the benefits of economies of scale; we will enjoy the benefits of credit and also enjoy the benefits of the diversity of assets that Prudent Energy is bringing to the party,” he had told journalists last month.
Also recall that after its acquisition of Forte Oil, Chairman of Ignite and Chief Executive of Prudent Energy Services Limited, Mr Abdulwasiu Sowami, had said the investment was a of “strategic importance to support our quest of continuously adding value to the Nigerian oil and gas industry.”
According to him, “The next phase of Forte Oil’s growth will focus on increasing volumes, diversifying business operations, widening distribution networks and extracting potential synergies with partners. We look forward to working as part of the Forte Oil family to achieve this growth.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) has inaugurated its 2025 Innovation Lab, a facility designed to accelerate digital solutions and reshape insurance practice in the country.
Speaking at the launch on Monday in Lagos, NIA Chairman, Mr Kunle Ahmed, said the initiative marked a milestone in repositioning the industry for a technology-driven future.
Mr Ahmed recalled that at his inauguration in October 2024, he emphasised the need for insurers to embrace digital innovations and pledged to establish an innovation challenge to foster new solutions.
“Today, we are not just opening a facility, we are igniting a movement, rooted in innovation, driven by collaboration, and destined to transform the way we protect lives, assets, and futures,” he said.
Mr Ahmed explained that the lab would serve as a hub where ideas would be nurtured, technologies tested, and scalable solutions developed for the Nigerian market.
According to him, the youthful demographics of Nigeria, with a median age of 18 years, make it imperative for insurers to adopt digital platforms, artificial intelligence, blockchain, and data analytics.
He said this was needed to improve efficiency, expand access, and deepen trust.
“Innovation is not a luxury. It is a necessity. The future of our industry depends on agility, inclusiveness, and digital empowerment,” he said.
Mr Ahmed urged regulators, technology partners, and member companies to collaborate with the association in making the innovation lab a success.
He described the lab as a symbol of unity of purpose and diversity of thought, adding that it would serve as a platform for continuous learning and adaptation in a rapidly changing world.
“To our innovators, this is your launchpad, your opportunity to shape the future.
“To our member companies, invest in this future. And to every Nigerian, believe in the power of innovation to protect assets and sustain standards of living,” he said.
On his part, Mr Babatunde Fajemirokun, who chairs NIA’s Advisory Committee on Digital Innovation and IT, presented insights from the survey earlier conducted which informed on the challenging areas to wade into.
The survey, which engaged 45 senior leaders including 22 Chief Executive Officers, 10 Chief Technology Officers, and 13 heads of strategy across life, general, and micro-insurance, revealed areas where the industry must channel its focus.
“The data reveal a sector ready to embrace innovation, with 87 per cent of executives expressing willingness to collaborate on shared solutions and 69 per cent confirming readiness to commit resources in 2025.
“Customer experience, acquisition, KYC, and distribution rank as the top priorities for innovation.
“Fraud management, eKYC, and claims exchange emerged as the most promising areas for industry-wide collaboration,” he said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
For the second consecutive month, Nigeria maintained its crude production quota of 1.5 million barrels per day in July 2025.
According to the August 2025 Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR) released by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Nigeria was able to sustain its crude oil production for two months straight.
As part of efforts to avoid oil glut, which refers to having too much oil supply in the global market, and keep prices stable to help economies grow, OPEC provided every member country with a production cap.
For Nigeria, it has not been able to reach the level in recent times until January 2025, when it recorded the highest output of 1.54 million barrels per day.
However, it dropped below the 1.5 million barrels daily mark in February until May.
Momentum picked up again when the country’s average daily oil production rose to 1.505 million barrels per day in June.
It has now sustained this again with data showing Nigeria produced 1.507 million barrels per day in July.
Prior to this, production averaged 1.453 million barrels per day in May.
Crude production dropped to 1.46 million barrels per day in February, 1.40 million barrels per day in March, 1.48 million barrels per day in April and 1.45 million barrels per day in May.
Nigeria is actively boosting crude oil production by reactivating dormant fields, fast-tracking regulatory approvals, and enhancing operational efficiencies across the upstream value chain.
With the country’s production picking up, the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Mr Bashir Bayo Ojulari, noted that this could lead to country to ask for a higher output benchmark from OPEC.
Oil accounts for over 60 per cent of Nigeria’s foreign earnings and a higher output quota will help boost the country’s foreign reserves and reduce the need to borrow to fund the N54 trillion budget for 2025.
Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange further depreciated by 1.84 per cent in the 33rd trading week of 2025 despite the addition of MRS Oil Nigeria Plc in the week, though it boosted the market capitalisation of the platform.
In the week, the NASD Unlisted Securities Index (NSI) went down by 67.34 point to 3,587.76 points from the 3,655.10 points recorded in the previous week, while the market capitalisation went up by N6.14 billion to N2.146 trillion from N2.140 trillion in Week 32.
Business Post reports that the bourse ended the week with seven price gainers and six price losers led by Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which declined by 18.09 per cent to N43.82 per share from N53.50 per share.
Further, Okitipupa Plc, which declined by 5.37 per cent to N224.56 per share from N237.24 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc lost 7.33 per cent to N64.51 per unit from N69.61 per unit, NASD Plc depreciated by 2.32 per cent to N29.50 per unit from N30.20 per unit, Mixta Real Estate Plc dropped 8.91 per cent to N5.52 per share from N6.06 per share, and Geo-Fluids Plc fell by 1.00 per cent to N4.95 per unit from N5.00 per unit.
On the flip side, 11 Plc gained 9.49 per cent to N250.84 per share from N229.10 per share, Afriland Properties Plc improved by 7.14 per cent to N21.00 per unit from N19.60 per unit, Food Concepts Plc appreciated by 6.21 per cent to N3.42 per share from N3.22 per share, UBN Property Plc rose by 5.00 per cent to N2.10 per unit from N2.00 per unit, Acorn Petroleum Plc expanded by 9.24 per cent to N1.30 per share from N1.19 per share, First Trust Mortgage Bank Plc increased by 1.61 per cent to 63 Kobo per unit from 62 Kobo per unit, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc grew by 32.59 per cent to 57 Kobo per share from 43 Kobo per share.
Last week, the total value of trades jumped by 580.7 per cent to N1.102 billion from the previous week’s N161.9 million, the total volume of transactions surged by 160.5 per cent to 70.9 million units from 27.2 million units, and the number of deals declined by 0.55 per cent to 182 deals from 183 deals.
The most traded stock by value was Okitipupa Plc with N917.9 million, Geo-Fluids Plc recorded N96.6 million, Friesland Campina Wamco Nigeria Plc posted N22.8 million, CSCS Plc traded N18.5 million, and IGI Plc reported N17.8 million.
The most traded stock by volume was IGI Plc with 35.3 million units, Geo-Fluids Plc exchanged 19.4 million units, Food Concepts Plc transacted 5.2 million units, Okitipupa Plc quoted 4.2 million units, and IPWA Plc achieved 3.6 million units.
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