Economy
Investors Lose N281b In 8 Months
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
According to a report by Vanguard, investors in Nigeria’s stock market lost about N281 billion of their investment value in the past eight months as the ongoing economic recession continues to hit the financial market.
This is just as stockbrokers continued to lament over difficult operating environment which has placed their businesses in difficulties.
Vanguard findings showed that the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) market capitalisation, which represents the value of total investment in the stock market by investors, dropped by N281 billion or 2.9 per cent from N9.850 trillion it opened in the first trading day of January this year to close at N9.569 trillion last week Friday.
Another stock market gauge, the NSE All share index dropped by 2.7 per cent or 783.77 points from 28, 642.25 points it opened in January to close last week at 27,599.03 points.
Meanwhile, stockbrokers have said that the on-going economic recession continues to affect the financial market with dire consequences on the income streams of the capital market operators and has given them concern for their continued existence.
According to stockbrokers, “There is a deep concern that the current operating environment characterised by high interest rate, weak purchasing power, poor corporate earnings, unstable exchange rate , high inflation rate and investors’ apathy among others are fast eroding our dwindling income fuelling speculation that many of us may be pushed completely out of the business.
“So, if the government does not intervene appropriately we may be forced to go out of business and this will affect our employees and put them in the unemployment market.”
Painting the gloomy picture of the stockbrokers’ weak financial situation, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Standard Union Securities, Mr Sehinde Adenagbe said it would be difficult for stockbrokers to break even under the current climate.
“Overhead cost is rising steadily and workers are clamouring for higher pay to cope with the high cost of living. Office rent, epileptic power supply and transport costs are of great concerns to us and there are other contending issues that are eating deeply into the incomes of stockbrokers,” Mr Adenagbe posited.
Speaking on the survival strategy, the President and Chairman of Governing Council, Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS), Mr Oluwaseyi Abe advocated personal development on the part of the stockbrokers in order to expand their income streams.
“Recession is a time to take a breath. Invest on knowledge this time and be moderate. Stockbrokers should be multitasking to be relevant on all platforms and Exchanges.
“Also, they should not forget the age-long advice of an investment expert, Warren Buffet whose ideals covered risk taking, savings, expectation and earnings among others as survival strategy,” Mr Abe said.
Agreeing with Mr Abe’s submission, the Registrar and Chief Executive, CIS, Mr Adedeji Ajadi advised stockbrokers to be more creative and ready for diversification in order to remain in business. “This is not the time to limit business opportunities to trading listed securities. What about bonds, unlisted equities and foreign exchange?
“Stockbrokers are also investment advisers. This is the right time to work with governments at various levels as consultants and advisers on how to create alternative sources of revenue, and better manage scarce resources to ride through the challenges of the economy at this time,” Mr Ajadi said.
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Network Capital Limited, Mr Oluropo Dada said there is the need for stockbrokers to leverage their wide professional latitude to go into money market instruments by way of portfolio switching in favour of money market instruments such as Treasury bills.
Mr Dada described money market instruments as very attractive at present as the federal government is deploying them to attract foreign investors.
“This possibly accounts for massive sell-offs of some stocks in the market. Stockbrokers are now buying instruments with strong fundamentals like Nestle Foods and Nigeria Breweries for proprietary trading to remain in business in this period of recession,” Mr Dada said.
The Chief Executive Officer, NASD OTC Exchange, Mr Bola Ajomale simply urged stockbrokers to wear their investment banking cap and work on buy-outs, mergers and growth of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) in order to cope with the current realities.
The Chief Executive Officer, Finawell Capital Limited, Mr Tunde Oyekunle advised stockbrokers to consider alternative income streams such as setting up of a strong fixed income desk to trade bonds and forex. He also recommended commodity trading and Derivatives such as forward contracts to boost income in the wake of recession.
Mr Oyekunle’s view was corroborated by the Chief Dealer, Coo Hedge Securities and Investment, Mr Samuel Ndata who urged his colleagues to diversify whatever little income in stockbroking to agriculture in order to stay afloat.
Mr David Adonri, the Chief Executive Officer, Highcap Securities Limited stated that to remain in business, stockbrokers must embark on austerity measures by cutting cost and patiently awaiting recovery of the economy.
The Relationship Officer, Foresight Securities and Investment Limited, Mr Fakrogba Charles who noted that economy moves in cycles said that stockbrokers should advise investors to invest in value stocks as recession is not a permanent feature.
In his response, the Principal Partner and Chief Executive Officer, Alicorn Consulting Limited, Mr Segun Oye simply explained that, “Recession comes with external factors that can only be managed by aggressive reduction of overhead and option of innovative diversification.
Speaking as well on the economic recession in the country, Managing Director/CEO, B. Adedipe Associates, Dr Biodun Adedipe, said that the recession is bad news for all stakeholders, and it also demands creativity and pragmatism to reverse. He tasked the government to provide leadership by spending more, especially on infrastructure to prevent a full blown depression and push for economic recovery.
Dr Adedipe further charged the government on the need to make business environment more friendly, ensure policy alignment with expansionary necessity and press more into transparency and value for money spending.
According to him, the government needs to revisit the exchange rate policy — the current arrangement is counterproductive for an import dependent economy with weak real sector.”
Also speaking on this development, Managing Director, Cowry Asset Management Limited, Mr Johnson Chukwu, said that with the economy going into a recession, there is the likelihood of more job losses as consumer demand declines further.
“I think that our economic managers at both the fiscal and monetary sides need to evolve coordinated stimulus response to inject liquidity into the System and reverse the economic decline,” he said.”
He, however, urged the nation’s economy managers on why emphasis should be shifted from fighting high rate of inflation to intensifying efforts in restoring economic growth.
In a similar direction, Director-General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Mr Muda Yusuf, said government should work to rekindle investors’ confidence in the economy because capital and investment flows from investors are needed to complement government’s developmental drives. His words, “government can rekindle investors’ confidence in the economy by the quality and consistency of its policies.”
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/09/recession-investors-lose-n281bn-less-9-months/
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria’s economic growth rate eased in the first quarter of 2026 to 3.89 per cent year-on-year, as a slowdown in the oil sector offset gains recorded in the non-oil sector.
The economy, measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP), slowed in the first three months of this year from the 4.07 per cent recorded in the previous quarter (Q4 2025), according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday. However, it was higher than the 3.13 per cent recorded in the first quarter of 2025.
In the first quarter of 2026, Nigeria recorded an average daily oil production of 1.55 million barrels per day, lower than 1.62 million barrels per day in the same quarter of 2025 and lower than the 1.58 million barrels per day in the fourth quarter of 2025.
The real growth of the oil sector was 2.57 (year-on-year) in Q1 2026, indicating an increase of 0.70 per cent compared with the 1.87 per cent in the corresponding quarter of 2025.
However, growth decreased by 4.22 per cent compared to 6.79 per cent in Q4 2025, and on a quarter-on-quarter basis, the oil sector recorded a growth rate of 9.31 per cent.
For the non-oil sector, it contributed 96.08 per cent to the nation’s GDP between January and March 2026, versus 96.03 per cent in the same period of last year and lower than 97.13 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year.
During the quarter under review, agriculture grew by 3.15 per cent. The growth of the industry sector stood at 3.50 per cent versus 3.42 per cent in the first quarter of last year, while the services sector recorded a growth of 4.31 per cent, in contrast to 4.33 per cent in the same quarter of 2025.
In terms of share of the GDP, the services sector contributed 57.73 per cent compared to 57.50 per cent in the first quarter of 2025.
In the quarter under review, aggregate GDP at basic price stood at N110.79 trillion in nominal terms, higher than N94.1 trillion in the first quarter of 2025 by 17.79 per cent.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has warned that Nigeria must not forgo its commitment to boosting domestic refining capacity amid growing advocacy for the importation of petroleum products.
In a statement, the centre explained that Nigeria must, therefore, avoid drifting into a policy regime that undermines domestic production in the name of competition or liberalisation.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the think tank, Mr Muda Yusuf, in a press release, warned that Nigeria is signalling to investors what happens if a multi-billion-dollar Dangote refinery investment of continental significance is confronted with regulatory uncertainty and policy headwinds.
The development comes as the management of the refinery has approached the court to battle against regulators, including the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), over their decision to allow importation.
The dispute stems from a lawsuit filed by Dangote Refinery against the Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr Lateef Fagbemi, over fuel import licences granted to six marketers and the state oil company. The case has since widened the debate around local refining, market competition and the future direction of Nigeria’s downstream petroleum industry.
According to the centre, the increased call speaks to the very architecture of Nigeria’s economic philosophy, the future of industrialisation, the resilience of the macroeconomy and, ultimately, the preservation of the country’s economic sovereignty.
“No nation has ever imported its way to industrial greatness. Prosperous economies are built on production, refining, manufacturing, value addition and the strengthening of domestic productive capacity.
“Countries that become excessively dependent on imports inevitably export jobs, weaken domestic industries, erode local investments and mortgage their economic sovereignty.
“Nigeria must therefore avoid drifting into a policy regime that undermines domestic production in the name of competition or liberalisation,“ Mr Yusuf noted.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Airtel Africa has launched a share buyback programme worth up to $110 million, signalling confidence in its strong balance sheet and financial flexibility as the telco seeks to return value to shareholders.
The company disclosed in a notice filed on the portal of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited that the programme would involve the repurchase of up to 1 per cent of its issued share capital as part of its capital allocation policy.
The telco further stated that all shares repurchased under the programme would be cancelled as the sole purpose of the exercise is to reduce the company’s capital base.
“The sole purpose of the buyback programme is to reduce the capital of the company. As such, all shares purchased under the buyback programme will be cancelled,” the notice stated.
According to the organisation, the initiative reflects the board’s confidence in the group’s financial position and its ability to continue investing across its African operations while rewarding shareholders.
“The board’s decision reflects the continued strength of the Group’s balance sheet and its ability to preserve financial flexibility while supporting ongoing investment to capitalise on the compelling growth outlook across the Group’s footprint,” the notice stated.
Airtel Africa said it had entered into an agreement with Barclays Capital Securities Limited to execute the programme through on-market purchases of its ordinary shares, which would subsequently be acquired by the company. The agreement, according to the notice, consists of two parallel elements.
Under the non-discretionary arrangement, Barclays will independently purchase between $50 million and $60 million worth of ordinary shares without influence from the company.
The second component is a discretionary arrangement under which Airtel Africa may instruct Barclays to purchase up to an additional $50 million worth of shares, subject to the provisions of the Market Abuse Regulation.
The programme commenced on May 22, 2026, and is expected to run until no later than November 27, 2026, unless terminated earlier in line with the terms of the agreement.
Airtel Africa said further tranches of the programme could be announced later to enable it fulfil its objective of repurchasing up to one per cent of its issued share capital as at the date of the announcement.
The telecommunications company also explained that the purchases would be carried out in line with shareholder approvals, UK listing regulations and market abuse rules. It noted that shareholders had earlier granted the company authority at its annual general meeting held on July 9, 2025, to repurchase a maximum of 366.07 million ordinary shares.
Following the completion of an earlier buyback programme, Airtel Africa said the remaining authority available for repurchases currently stands at 357.04 million ordinary shares.
The company further disclosed that Barclays may continue executing the discretionary portion of the buyback autonomously during closed periods under irrevocable and non-discretionary instructions permitted by regulation.
The new buyback announcement comes weeks after Airtel Africa reported strong financial and operational performance for the year ended March 31, 2026 (Q1), supported by growth in data usage, mobile money services and improved profitability across its markets.
According to its audited financial statement, the group recorded a 29.5 per cent increase in revenue to $6.42 billion from $4.96 billion in the previous year, while profit after tax (PAT) rose by 147.4 per cent to $813 million from $328 million.
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