Author: Gilbert Ayoola

Nigeria’s headline inflation rate edged higher to 15.69% in April 2026 from 15.38% recorded in March, according to the latest data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, marking the highest inflation reading in five months despite remaining significantly below the 26.82% level recorded in April 2025.

Wema Bank has firmly rejected allegations surrounding the sale of high-value properties in Banana Island linked to the defunct Gulf Bank, maintaining that the transactions were lawful, commercially justified, and executed strictly within the framework of debt recovery obligations owed to the bank.

In capital markets, there are moments when rhetoric becomes irrelevant, and conviction is measured only in cash deployed. Today, Wednesday, May 13, 2026, delivered one of those moments.

Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) Plc has reinforced investor confidence with a bold shareholder reward strategy following the release of its 2025 audited report, underscoring the company’s accelerating earnings momentum and resilient balance sheet expansion despite Nigeria’s challenging macroeconomic environment.

First HoldCo Plc delivered a deeply mixed but strategically revealing audited FY2025 performance, reflecting the harsh realities of Nigeria’s elevated interest rate regime, regulatory tightening, asset repricing pressures, and post-FX reform adjustments within the banking industry.

Access Holdings Plc’s decision to reduce equity stakes in some of its foreign subsidiaries following the Central Bank of Nigeria directive limiting offshore investments to 10% of shareholders’ funds represents more than a routine regulatory adjustment; it is a defining moment for capital discipline within Nigeria’s banking sector.

Nigeria’s banking sector is not in distress, but it is entering a more disciplined phase of capital stewardship. The Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) new directive requiring regulatory approval before dividend declarations is less a constraint on profitability and more a recalibration of financial resilience.

Lafarge Africa Enters New Cycle, Market Reprices Growth Prospects Lafarge Africa Plc has entered a pivotal transition phase following the completion of Holcim’s divestment of its 83.81% controlling stake to Huaxin Building Materials Group Co., Limited. The transaction marks one of the most significant shifts in foreign ownership in Nigeria’s industrial landscape in recent years, signalling a strategic realignment with potential implications for capital structure, operational scale, and long-term competitiveness. Notably, governance continuity has been preserved. The board structure remains intact, with Gbenga Oyebode retaining his role as Chairman and Lolu Alade-Akinyemi continuing as Group Managing Director/CEO. This stability at…

Dividend Investing: Converting Equity Income into Financial Independence Dividend investing, at its core, is not about chasing yield. It is about engineering a reliable income stream that can ultimately substitute earned wages. In the context of Nigeria’s capital market, this strategy carries both compelling opportunities and structural nuances that investors must navigate with precision. The primary objective is straightforward as to accumulate positions in fundamentally sound, dividend-paying companies whose distributions can, over time, replicate or exceed one’s active income. When executed effectively, this approach transforms equity ownership into a self-sustaining cash flow engine decoupling livelihood from labour. Nigeria’s equity market,…

Stanbic IBTC Surpasses N1trn Milestone, Profit Surges Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc delivered a defining performance in its audited consolidated and separate financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2025, reinforcing its position as one of Nigeria’s most resilient and strategically agile financial institutions. The Group’s gross earnings expanded sharply to N1.14 trillion, up from N823.31 billion in 2024, marking its first crossing of the trillion-naira threshold. This milestone underscores both scale efficiency and revenue diversification in a macroeconomic environment characterised by elevated interest rates and currency volatility. At the core of this expansion was robust interest income growth, which…