Economy
Majority Shareholder Buys 474.6 million AIICO Insurance Shares
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
A majority shareholder in AIICO Insurance Plc, DF Holdings Limited, has acquired additional shares of the underwriting firm.
The transaction occurred on Thursday, December 31, 2020, a notice from the company and pasted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) revealed.
It was disclosed that DF Holdings bought a total of 474,603,596 units of the company’s stocks at N1.17 each, amounting to N555.3 million.
DF Holdings is owned by Mr Dele Fajemirokun, a Nigerian businessman, entrepreneur, investor, venture capitalist and philanthropist.
The graduate of Business Economics from the prestigious University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) in Ile-Ife, has more than four decades of extensive business building and wealth creation experience, both within and outside Nigeria; having built a business empire that is unique in comparison to conventional businesses.
He has cultivated and invested in a number of best-in-class companies in Nigeria; amassing a plethora of high-performance enterprises in key sectors of the economy including insurance, telecommunications, oil and gas, agriculture, the supply food chain and manufacturing.
Notable among these are the American International Insurance Company, (AIICO Plc), Food Concepts & Entertainment Plc (owners of Chicken Republic), Xerox Nigeria (now XHS), Johnson Wax (makers of Baygon & Raid insecticides), Kings Guards Securities Group Limited (one of the largest employers of labour, employing more than 25,000 people across the country in both private and public companies and parastatals, assets and difficult terrains), Logic Science Limited, FSS Gases Limited and BlueChip Communication Limited.
He is currently serving as Chairman/Director on the board of all these companies, and many others, totalling 43 companies overall.
His son, Mr Babatunde Fajemirokun, who the third generation of the Fajemirokun tree, is currently the Managing Director of AIICO Insurance Plc.
The United Kingdom-trained boardroom guru was once a visiting lecturer in the Division of Economics & Enterprise in Glasgow Caledonian University.
He has transformed the insurance company since assuming office, attracting investors, including LeapFrog III Nigeria Insurance Holdings Limited, which came into the company through a private placement, with the purchase of about 4.4 billion units of AIICO Insurance stocks at N1.20 each last year.
This deal increased the total issued and fully paid-up shares of AIICO Insurance Plc to 11,330,204,480 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each from 6,930,204,480 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.16 per cent on Thursday, April 29, with the Unlisted Security Index (NSI) returning above the 4,000-point mark after chalking up 6.55 points to settle at 4,005.78 points compared with the previous day’s 3,999.23 points.
During the trading session, the market capitalisation of the platform went up by N3.92 billion to close at N2.396 trillion, in contrast to the N2.392 trillion it ended on Wednesday.
The upliftment of the alternative stock market was influenced by the gains posted by four securities, which offset the losses printed by two securities.
According to data, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc chalked up N4.03 to close at N76.02 per share versus the preceding session’s N71.99 per share, Food Concepts Plc appreciated by 24 Kobo to N2.67 per unit from N2.43 per unit, UBN Property Plc climbed 20 Kobo to trade at N2.23 per share versus N2.03 per share, and Geo-Fluids Plc improved by 9 Kobo to N3.00 per unit from N2.91 per unit.
On the flip side, MRS Oil Plc lost N17.65 to end at N178.10 per share compared with the previous price of N195.75 per share, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc dipped by N9.76 to N90.24 per unit from N100.00 per unit.
The volume of securities traded during the trading day went up by 184.3 per cent to 877,682 units from 308,698 units, the value of securities jumped 5.7 per cent to N26.7 million from N25.2 million, and the number of deals soared by 100 per cent to 56 deals from 28 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 60.1 million units exchanged for N4.1 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units traded for N1.9 billion.
GNI Plc also closed as the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units worth N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units transacted for N1.2 billion.
The market will be closed on Friday, May 1, for Workers’ Day celebration.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira, in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Thursday, April 3, further appreciated against the United States Dollar by N4.52 or 0.33 per cent to N1,374.94/$1 from N1,379.46/$1.
Equally, the domestic currency gained against the Pound Sterling in the official market by N3.34 during the session to close at N1,858.24/£1 compared to the previous rate of N1,861.58/£1, and against the Euro, it improved by N5.29 to sell at N1,607.58/€1 versus N1,612.87/€1.
At the GTBank FX counter, the Nigerian Naira gained N4 against the Dollar to settle at N1,384/$1 versus Wednesday’s closing price of N1,389/$1, and at the parallel market, it improved by N5 to trade at N1,385/$1 compared with the N1,390/$1 it was transacted a day earlier.
Nigeria’s external reserves, which provide the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) with a buffer to support the Naira, continued their downward trend, declining to $48.36 billion as of April 29, 2026, according to data.
Market activity weakened sharply, with the NAFEM recording zero deals on Thursday, down from 393 deals on Wednesday. Total turnover in the official window also dropped from $802.44 million to zero, underscoring a severe liquidity squeeze.
Thursday’s price formation was driven entirely by the interbank segment, where turnover also fell significantly to $58.03 million from $249.91 million, suggesting that liquidity pressures extended across the broader FX market.
As for the cryptocurrency market, prices were up amid looming US inflation data, while high oil prices and rising bond yields weigh on risk assets.
The appreciation faces headwinds in the form of US March PCE inflation, which lands as oil prices keep pressure on risk assets, as well as reduced traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which has kept energy markets fragile.
Dogecoin (DOGE) rose by 1.8 per cent to trade at $0.1082, Bitcoin (BTC) appreciated to $76,987.59, Ethereum (ETH) grew by 1.2 per cent to $2,276.11, Cardano (ADA) added 1.1 per cent to close at $0.2484, and Solana (SOL) soared by 1.1 per cent to $83.89.
Further, TRON (TRX) increased by 0.7 per cent to $0.3224, Ripple (XRP) jumped 0.4 per cent to $1.37, and Binance Coin (BNB) expanded by 0.2 per cent to $616.67, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
By Dipo Olowookere
A further 2.14 per cent leap was recorded by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Thursday, the last trading session of April 2026.
This was supported by strong buying pressure despite selling pressure in the consumer goods and insurance sectors, which lost 0.14 per cent and 0.07 per cent, respectively.
It was observed that the energy index went up by 4.78 per cent, the industrial goods space appreciated by 4.13 per cent, and the banking segment rose by 0.52 per cent.
As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) gained 5,072.22 points to settle at 242,277.81 points versus the 237,205.59 points on Wednesday, and the market capitalisation jumped N3.266 trillion to N155.994 trillion from N152.728 trillion.
FTN Cocoa, BUA Cement, CAP, UAC Nigeria, and Zichis soared by 10.00 per cent each to quote at N5.50, N418.00, N145.20, N181.50, and N21.78, respectively.
On the flip side, Aluminium Extrusion lost 9.95 per cent to trade at N9.50, Royal Exchange declined by 9.93 per cent to N1.36, Legend Internet slipped by 9.32 per cent to N5.35, Austin Laz dropped 9.12 per cent to N3.39, and Neimeth went down by 7.26 per cent to N8.30.
Business Post reports that there were 46 price gainers and 41 price losers on Customs Street during the session, implying a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.
A total of 1.9 billion shares valued at N104.3 billion were traded in 92,353 deals yesterday compared with the 1.3 billion shares worth N69.1 billion transacted in 83,445 deals at midweek, indicating a surge in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 46.15 per cent, 50.94 per cent, and 10.68 per cent, respectively.
At the close of business, Access Holdings led the activity chart with 935.0 million units sold for N24.3 billion, Lasaco Assurance traded 90.2 million units valued at N175.2 million, UBA exchanged 89.0 million units worth N3.9 billion, Wema Bank transacted 68.4 million units worth N2.4 billion, and GTCO sold 54.7 million units valued at N7.4 billion.
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