Elumelu's Seplat stake doubles to $1bn as NGX extends losing streak

The Nigerian stock market closed lower for the second straight session on Thursday, August 20, 2026, as sustained profit-taking erased this week's gains. In the same period, Tony Elumelu's investment in Seplat Energy crossed the $1 billion mark.

NGX extends losing streak

The NGX All-Share Index fell by 0.30% to close at 240,037.80 points, down from 240,750.47 points on Wednesday. The weekly return turned negative, while the market's year-to-date return moderated to 54.25%. Market capitalisation declined by approximately N440.33 billion.

The decline was driven by profit-taking in banking, consumer goods, industrial, and oil and gas stocks. Aradel fell by 5.40%. Oando declined by 3.68%. UBA dropped by 2.17%. Access Holdings shed 0.74%. Wema Bank declined by 0.68%. Zenith Bank fell by 0.48%. GTCO dropped by 0.23%.

Overall, 28 equities declined compared with 14 gainers. Omatek, Ellah Lakes, and Royal Exchange were among the top decliners. AVACAP, Royal Exchange, and Oando traded below their 52-week lows at N7.00, N1.00, and N34.00 respectively. HMCALL emerged as the top gainer, while IntEnEgIns recorded the steepest decline.

A total of 2.87 billion shares worth N33.99 billion were exchanged in 34,725 deals, representing a 140.65% increase in trading volume. FTGINSURE led with 2.56 billion shares, accounting for 88.98% of total volume. Aradel recorded the highest traded value at N6.23 billion, representing 18.32% of the total value. SterlingNG accounted for 0.98% of total volume, while Transcorp Express accounted for 0.75%. Seplat and FTGINSURE followed Aradel among the stocks with the highest traded value.

Elumelu's Seplat stake more than doubles

Tony Elumelu's investment in Seplat Energy has crossed the $1 billion mark following a significant rise in the energy company's market value. Heirs Holdings, Elumelu's investment vehicle, became Seplat's largest shareholder in December 2025 after acquiring a 20.07% stake, equivalent to 120.4 million shares, from French energy company Maurel & Prom for about $500 million.

Seplat's market capitalisation has now risen to about $5.24 billion, while its shares trade at N11,200.60 on the NGX and £6.47 on the London Stock Exchange. The value of Heirs Holdings' 20.07% stake has consequently risen to about $1 billion, more than doubling the original investment in less than eight months. The development highlights the gains recorded by major investors in Nigeria's energy sector as Seplat's share price continues to appreciate.

Dangote refinery IPO in view

Investors are also positioning ahead of the Initial Public Offering of the Dangote Group's refinery, with Aliko Dangote confirming that the listing is expected to launch soon. Dangote disclosed this during an interaction with journalists after leading chairman Femi Otedola and senior executives of First HoldCo and its subsidiaries on a tour of the refinery complex in Lagos.

The second straight market decline and heavy trading volumes point to profit-taking after recent gains, even as energy stocks like Seplat continue to attract major capital from investors.