The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has revealed that companies listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) declared a total of N1.1 trillion in dividends for 2024. Out of this, N1 trillion has already been paid to shareholders.
This was disclosed on Sunday by the SEC Director-General, Dr. Emomotimi Agama, who described it as a strong signal of growing market confidence and improved returns for investors.
Dr. Agama also stated that the commission approved N3.68 trillion in new issues in 2024. This included N59.82 billion in bonds and N3.62 trillion in equity sales — showing strong interest in the stock market from both companies and investors.
Between January and April 2025, an additional N446.38 billion in new issues has been approved, made up of N265.90 billion from bonds and N180.48 billion from equities.
On mergers and acquisitions, the SEC boss said that 11 major deals worth N320.36 billion were approved in 2024. The biggest among them was the N103.7 billion acquisition of Guinness Nigeria Plc by N Seven Nigeria Ltd. Other key transactions include Flour Mills of Nigeria’s N105 billion restructuring and Transcorp’s N5.08 billion share consolidation.
So far in 2025, the commission has approved three major transactions worth N38.53 billion, including two takeovers and one corporate restructuring.
The SEC also reported strong growth in collective investment schemes, with mutual funds reaching N3.84 trillion in total value and over 800,000 unit holders. Privately managed investment portfolios hit N4.69 trillion, with 82 asset managers now overseeing a total of N8.53 trillion in assets.
Agama noted that these developments show a maturing capital market where fund management is playing a bigger role in driving economic growth and wealth creation.
