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Femi Otedola had dinner with President Bola Tinubu in Paris on Monday evening, Sept. 28, and endorsed the president's economic programme the following morning.
The group chairman of First HoldCo said Tinubu's bold and forward-thinking reforms have put the Nigerian economy firmly on a path of sustainable growth.
He pointed to the numbers. Nigerian companies have entered the FTSE Russell Frontier 50 Index, the Nigerian Exchange is trading at historic highs, foreign direct investment has risen, the foreign exchange market is unified and more stable, and reserves stand at about $55 billion.
"I remain proud of you, Mr. President!" he wrote on social media.
The record supports him. Six of the thirteen new places on the FTSE Russell Frontier 50 Index went to Nigerian companies. The All-Share Index closed the third quarter at 252,113.41, up 9.89% over three months, with market capitalisation above 163 trillion naira. The central bank cut its benchmark rate by 350 basis points to 23% this month, the largest single reduction in its history, after inflation eased for a third consecutive month to 15.39% in August.
The foreign exchange market Otedola described took two years to rebuild. Nigeria ran multiple official rates alongside a parallel market for years, which left importers queuing for dollars they could not get at the official price. The administration merged the windows in 2023 and let the naira find a market rate, and reserves have since recovered to around $55 billion.
Otedola has done well out of the market he was describing. First HoldCo shares have risen 194.4% this year, the bank overtook Zenith and GTCO to become the most valuable lender in Nigeria at more than 7 trillion naira, and his 12.3 billion shares make him the largest individual shareholder of any bank on the Nigerian Exchange.
Neither man said what they talked about.
Tinubu has been working in France for several weeks. Emmanuel Macron hosted him for a private dinner at the Élysée Palace on Sept. 17, and he has met the French businessman Vincent Bolloré to discuss investment in Nigeria's creative and digital economy.
He flies back to Lagos on Tuesday, ahead of Independence Day on Oct. 1.
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