The recent visit of the Board and Management of the NGX to the President has received very wide media coverage
Immediately after that, the hard-working GMD of the bourse was reported to have said that over 500,000 millionaires have been made since this dispensation.
Much as the NGX reserves the right to blow its well-deserved trumpet, it must be very careful not to lend itself as an arm of government, especially at this time of elections
The NGX must carefully guard its independence, do everything within its powers to safeguard its free market ethos and be responsible to its Shareholders, Markets and its regulators
In doing this, it must be careful not to lend itself as a veritable platform for partisan politics, as the case may soon be if we are not careful
The NGX must understand very clearly that pushing too close to the Presidency at this time may pull in some partisan colouration that may not augur well for its branding and positioning as a neutral arbiter of wealth creation and super economic development
The statement that 500,000 millionaires have been made falls flat when you take into consideration the fact that, in an inflationary period, these things happen very easily as margins are extremely wide with its attendant influence on profits, which at times borders on profiteering
Another angle again is the issue of float. With most highly capitalised stocks trading with less than 20% float, demand will always outdo supply, which will invariably ramp up prices, leaving institutional shareholders holding paper values that throw up this much vaunted Millionaires.
So you would agree with me that much as we remain extremely excited with the huge performance records at the NGX, we cannot but be very worried about the thin legs they stand on, and this is why I think the NGX should slightly pull away from being sucked into the fray as we move closer to the elections
Government and its spokesmen have continued to parlay the performance of the NGX as a direct benefit of their reform policies
Much as we can’t stop them or even deny them, serious efforts must be made on the side of the NGX to ring-fence itself from this impending bromance, which, if not handled strategically, may lead opposition to setting their sights on the market and then start chipping away at its fragile legs
Take for example, Geregu has just missed its repayment schedule.
This information, in the hands of opposition Politicians who may be seeing the NGX as a lethal target in the race cos of its newly perceived positioning as an adjunct of its adversaries, could turn the Market into a battleground
This would lead to investor panic and a run on the place, pulling down the ASI as we may begin to see dumping.
So I tell my friends at the NGX, “Be careful.” Remember you are an SRO under strict regulations and as such, in your dealings with Government, especially at these times, your independence and neutrality must never be in doubt at all times and must be guarded very strenuously.
I say this with the best of interests and also knowing that today, the NGX has some of its brightest minds at the helm and as such, they would be in a very strong position to listen to this cry from the wilderness
Failure to hearken to this, they may now have themselves to blame if they allow politics to seep into their operations
I hope and pray that I am just being unnecessarily alarmist and that we will never see the NGX in partisan garb or lending itself to partisan consideration, cos if that happens, we just may have many more people to beat than just myself.
I have spoken; someone can come and beat me now
Thanks
Duke of Shomolu
Last modified: August 10, 2026
