Significance of Dangote Refinery IPO beyond Size of Transaction - NGX Chairman

Umaru Kwairanga, Chairman, Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX Group), says the Dangote Petroleum Refinery Initial Public Offering (IPO) signals Nigeria’s readiness to support large-scale capital raising through its capital market.

Kwairanga said this on the sidelines of Fintech Money 20/20 Middle East at the Riyadh International Conference Centre, Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday.

The NGX Chairman in a statement made available in Lagos on Thursday, said the significance of the Dangote Refinery IPO was beyond the size of the transaction.

“It demonstrates the capacity of the Nigerian capital market to support businesses of substantial scale,” he said.

According to him, the offer will enable businesses to raise long-term capital, broaden ownership and provide institutional and retail investors with opportunities to participate in their growth.

“The Dangote Petroleum Refinery IPO sends an important signal about the capacity and ambition of Nigeria’s capital market.

“The significance goes beyond the size of the transaction,” he said.

Kwairanga said the transaction could encourage other large Nigerian and African businesses to consider the capital market as a credible avenue for financing growth.

He said this was particularly important as Nigeria’s market infrastructure and accessibility continued to improve.

The NGX chairman made reference to the transition to T+1 settlement, extended trading hours and Nigeria’s return to the FTSE Russell Frontier Market universe from September 21 as key developments.

He said the developments were helping to create a deeper and more investable capital market capable of connecting companies with capital at scale.

Kwairanga said NGX was also working to ensure that major public offers were accessible to everyday Nigerians through multiple distribution channels.

He explained that investors could participate in public offers through stockbrokers, banks and approved digital platforms, with NGX Invest providing infrastructure connecting issuers to the distribution channels.

He said the initiative was aimed at broadening ownership of Nigerian businesses and creating opportunities for younger and first-time investors to participate in the country’s economic growth.

On attracting more Gulf investors to Nigeria, Kwairanga said the country offered significant opportunities in financial services, telecommunications, energy, infrastructure and industrial development.

He said attracting such capital required market accessibility, liquidity, regulatory certainty and confidence that investments could move efficiently into and out of the market.

According to him, improvements in foreign exchange liquidity, T+1 settlement and extended trading hours have enhanced the accessibility of the Nigerian market.

He said the return of Nigeria to FTSE Russell’s Frontier Market universe would also provide an important boost to the market’s international visibility.

Kwairanga called for stronger relationships between the Nigerian market and Gulf sovereign wealth funds, asset managers, family offices and other institutional investors.

He said greater visibility for Nigerian companies and increased direct engagement would help create a stronger Nigeria-Gulf investment corridor.

“For me, the opportunity is to build a stronger Nigeria-Gulf investment corridor, connecting significant pools of Gulf capital with credible Nigerian businesses and investment opportunities,” he said.

The NGX chairman also emphasised the importance of investor protection as more Nigerians increasingly access the capital market through mobile devices.

He said NGX Regulation provided independent oversight, surveillance of trading activities, enforcement of market rules and mechanisms for handling investor complaints.

Kwairanga said transparency and investor education were equally critical to protecting investors and sustaining confidence in the market.

He cautioned that digital access to investment opportunities did not eliminate investment risks, urging first-time investors to use regulated channels and understand the securities they were buying.

“Technology can widen participation, but trust is ultimately what sustains a capital market,” he said.

Credit NAN: Texts excluding Headline

Air Peace to NCAA: Your Flight Delay Report completely inaccurate, filled with Data Discrepancies

The Management of Air Peace has strongly refutes the flight disruption report published by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) for August 2026. The Airline claims the report contains fundamental data inaccuracies regarding its operational volume and mischaracterises the root causes of flight delays, unfairly placing the blame on Air Peace.

The Airline in a Statement issued on Thursday by its Chief Operating Officer, Oluwatoyin Olajide, said the data failed to reflect the reality of operations of Air Peace, nor does it accurately contextualise the primary drivers of the operational disruptions experienced during the said month.

"First and foremost, the NCAA report vastly underreported our total flight volume. Air Peace operated a total of 2,564 flights in August 2026, as opposed to the 1,864 flights stated in the NCAA report. By omitting over 700 fully operational flights from the data pool, the NCAA’s calculations skew our actual performance metrics and artificially inflate the reported delay percentages. Most worrisome is: Why did the NCAA start the monthly series with August rather than July, immediately following the publication of Q1 and Q2 on 31st of July?

"It is indeed worrisome that there is still no equivalent monthly data located for July, yet the NCAA published unusually granular August airline delay data only 13 days after month-end," says the Airline, describing the development as unbelievable.

Air Peace said the early release of the August publication should have been accompanied by disclosure that the month contained an extraordinary aviation-sector industrial disruption which significantly affected its operations. It added that the effect of the August 11th instigated Union disruptions of its operations lingered for over 14 days, leading to rescheduling, avoidable delays and cancellation of flights.

"Why was this report published rapidly without identifying the causes of the delays attributed to individual airlines instead of publishing wrong figures that could tarnish the reputation of the airline despite prevailing operational challenges,? the Airline asked.

Furthermore, the Airline said characterisation of the delays failed to differentiate between internal operational issues and severe systemic challenges that are completely outside its control.

"An internal review of our August 2026 flight data performance analysis reveals that 391 flights, which is only 15% of the delays experienced during the month of August, were caused by internal factors. The rest of the delays experienced by Air Peace were caused by external factors, and we have the data to support this."

Following this, only 391 flights according to Air Peace should be attributed to it, which represents 15% of the delays in that month.

The internal delay causal factors, the Airline added were largely as a result of technical issues resulting in unscheduled maintenance on its aircraft and fuel-related issues adding the major external disruptions are broken down as follows:

1. Airport Congestion and Traffic: Heavy tarmac and traffic congestion accounted for more than 51% of the external delays we experienced. Aircraft were frequently held on the ground or in holding patterns due to infrastructure capacity limits.

2. Bird Strikes: Unpredictable wildlife hazards, specifically bird strikes during takeoff and landing, forced unscheduled aircraft inspections and safety checks, disrupting flight rotations. One of our aircraft, 5N-BYG, was struck by a bird in Abuja, which damaged the inlet cowl beyond acceptable limits, costing us USD1.8M to fix the dent. This is an aircraft that operates a minimum of eight sectors a day, airlifting about 1,000 passengers. Unfortunately, the aircraft was removed from flight operations for more than a week, resulting in huge disruptions, and only became serviceable after the inlet cowl was replaced.

3. Airport Facilities: Deficiencies and unexpected breakdowns in airport infrastructure heavily restricted seamless boarding and departure timelines.

4. Inclement Weather Conditions: Unfavourable weather patterns throughout August forced mandatory safety holds and several diversions, which further compounded the backlog. It is no longer news that even now, we are still in the rainy season. One flight diversion could result in almost three hours' delay. How is the consequential delay Air Peace's fault? Yet, we still take care of the passengers, including hotel accommodations, for external events that are beyond the airline. This is against industry standard.

5. Unprecedented Picketing of the Airline by Aviation Union members, creating disruptions to our flight operations for over 14 days.

6. Damage Done to our Aircraft by Ground Handling Company, which resulted in the removal of the aircraft from active flights for more than 14 days.

Air Peace said the narrative that it is primarily responsible for the delays is completely false adding majority of the delays experienced by passengers were driven by external factors and completely outside its control.

"In stark contrast, delays caused by internal operational factors accounted for just 15% of the total delays experienced during the month of August".

"We have restrained ourselves from making these facts public before now, but we have now been pushed beyond acceptable limits, hence the need to go public and state the facts the way they are".

"Air Peace has heavily invested in its fleet, crew availability, continuous high-standard training and maintenance protocols. We remain fully committed to safety, on-time performance and passenger satisfaction; however, an airline cannot safely or logistically bypass severe airport congestion/traffic, inadequate airport infrastructure, sunset restrictions or adverse weather conditions. We will continue to optimise our internal processes to mitigate against all the internal delay drivers," it said.

The Airline urges the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority to review and audit its data collection methods to ensure future reports accurately reflect the correct data and delay causal factors/operational environment of the Nigerian aviation sector.

Credit Air Peace PR

Communique issued by NGE after its September 11 Standing Committee Meeting in Kano

The Standing Committee of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) held its meeting in Kano, Kano State, on Friday, September 11, 2026.

After extensive deliberations on issues relating to the media, political campaigns, press freedom, national security and the state of the nation, the Guild resolved as follows:

1. The Guild urges the media to remain professional and uphold the highest ethical standards in the discharge of their duties, with fairness, objectivity, accuracy and factuality guiding their reportage.

2. The Guild expresses concern over the increasing violations of press freedom and the harassment, intimidation and prosecution of journalists by security agencies through the use of cybercrime legislation and other laws that have the potential to undermine legitimate journalistic practice.

3. The Guild urges governments at all levels and members of the public to uphold and respect freedom of the press as a fundamental pillar of democracy and good governance. It calls for constructive engagement with the media and urges aggrieved parties to channel complaints through the Media Ombudsman established jointly by the Newspapers Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (NPAN), Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) and Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP), rather than resorting to threats, intimidation or violence against journalists and media organisations.

4. The Guild advises the Federal and state governments to provide an enabling environment for all political parties and their candidates to conduct their campaigns freely and fairly, including the lawful outdoor display of party symbols and the airing of campaign slogans.

5. The Guild urges the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and all other agencies involved in preparations for the 2027 general election to ensure a level playing field for all political parties, including the ruling and opposition parties, without bias or discrimination. This, it notes, is essential to building public confidence, trust and electoral integrity.

6. The Guild calls on politicians and political parties to engage in issue-based campaigns, avoid inflammatory rhetoric and adhere strictly to the rules governing political campaigns as preparations for the 2027 general election gather momentum.

7. The Guild calls on the Federal Government to remain steadfast in implementing its reforms, while ensuring that the welfare and wellbeing of Nigerians remain at the centre of all policy decisions and actions.

8. The Guild expresses concern over the deteriorating condition of federal roads across the country, which has imposed enormous hardship on motorists, commuters and businesses. It therefore calls on the Federal Government to redouble its efforts towards the rehabilitation, reconstruction and construction of roads to facilitate the free movement of people and goods and stimulate economic activities.

9. The Guild commends the nation’s security agencies for the successes recorded in the fight against terrorism, banditry and other forms of criminality. It, however, calls for sustained and coordinated efforts to achieve lasting peace, security and national unity.

10. The Guild expresses its profound appreciation to the Governor of Kano State, Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf, as well as the government and people of Kano State, for creating the enabling environment for the Standing Committee meeting and for their warm hospitality. The Guild reminds all stakeholders that good governance, the welfare of the people, peace, progress and respect for democratic values remain cardinal pillars of a stable and prosperous society.

Signed:
Eze Anaba
President

Onuoha Ukeh
General Secretary