Billionaire businessman Femi Otedola has praised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic programme after a private dinner with the Nigerian leader in Paris on Monday evening.
Mr Otedola, chairman of First HoldCo Plc, disclosed the meeting in a post on X on Tuesday, 29 September. He described the president’s policies as “bold and forward-thinking” and said they had placed the Nigerian economy “firmly on a path of sustainable growth”.
“The results are increasingly evident,” he wrote, pointing to the inclusion of leading Nigerian companies on the FTSE Russell Frontier 50 Index, record levels on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), higher foreign direct investment, renewed investor confidence, a more unified foreign-exchange market and external reserves of about $55 billion. He added: “I remain proud of you, Mr President.”
The dinner took place as President Tinubu continues an extended stay in Europe. He left Nigeria on 30 August for what the Presidency described as a working vacation, travelling first to London and later to Paris. While in France he has held engagements including a private dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron. His absence from the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York, and the length of the trip, have attracted public comment at home.
Several of the indicators cited by Mr Otedola have been independently reported in recent weeks. In its September 2026 review, FTSE Russell restored Nigeria to Frontier Market status after three years classified as Unclassified, and included six Nigerian stocks in the Frontier 50 Index with effect from 21 September: Aradel Holdings, Dangote Cement, FirstHoldCo, Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO), MTN Nigeria Communications and Zenith Bank.
On the NGX, the All-Share Index closed at 252,635.11 points on 28 September, with market capitalisation near a record ₦164 trillion. The index remains close to its all-time high of 254,067.42 points, set in May 2026, and is sharply higher year to date.
The Central Bank of Nigeria has also reported a marked rebuilding of external reserves. Gross reserves were put at $55.25 billion as of 18 September, the highest level in 18 years and sufficient, the bank said, to cover more than 11 months of imports. Later official figures showed the stock at $54.86 billion on 24 September. Capital importation in the first quarter of 2026 was reported at $10.37 billion, well above the corresponding period of 2025.
Since 2023 the Central Bank has moved to unify previously fragmented foreign-exchange windows into a more market-based Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market, clear a large backlog of unmet FX obligations and narrow the gap between official and parallel rates. Officials present those steps as the basis for greater stability and renewed inflows.
Mr Otedola did not give further details of the Paris meeting. The Presidency had not issued a separate statement on the dinner at the time of writing.
By A.Ikechukwu
