This is a growing conversation in Nigeria’s capital market that we can no longer avoid.
The Nigerian Exchange needs to rethink the continued use of listing by introduction and, more broadly, raise the bar on investor relations standards across the market.
Listing by introduction may be convenient, but convenience is not the purpose of a public market.
The core function of an exchange is price discovery.
When a company is listed by introduction, there is no capital raise and no competitive process to determine fair value.
Shares simply appear on the board at an assumed price.
That price is often arbitrary, illiquid and disconnected from real demand. Investors are left guessing, and the market is deprived of the most important signal a listing should send, which is what investors are actually willing to pay.
This approach also weakens confidence. A public listing should be a moment of transparency and engagement where management tells its equity story, answers hard questions and allows the market to assess risks and opportunities. Listing by introduction skips that moment entirely.
The market misses the narrative. The company avoids scrutiny. Liquidity suffers from day one, and the stock often drifts into irrelevance. That is not good for investors, and it is not good for the Exchange.
There is also a fairness issue. Companies that raise capital through an offer go through the discipline of disclosures, marketing and valuation. They invest time and money to engage investors. Allowing others to bypass this process creates an uneven playing field and lowers the overall quality of the market.
Beyond listings the NGX must confront a deeper structural problem, which is the lack of minimum investor relations standards. Nigeria cannot aspire to be a serious destination for domestic and global capital without basic transparency infrastructure.
At the very least, the Exchange should mandate that every listed company publish clear and accessible investor relations information. This includes a named head of investor relations or a responsible senior executive and a working email address that investors can rely on.
Today, many companies feel unreachable. That alone sends the wrong signal.
Quarterly presentations should also be compulsory and not optional. These presentations should meet a minimum operating standard. Investors should expect consistent disclosure on financial performance, segment information, capital allocation, strategy, risks and outlook. This is not about box ticking. It is about allowing investors to track progress and make informed decisions.
In addition, every listed company should host at least one investor call annually following full-year results. Silence is not a strategy. Management teams should be prepared to explain performance in their own words and respond to questions. A local investor roadshow once a year should also be expected. If a company wants public capital, it should be willing to show up and engage that capital.
There are other angles worth considering. Weak investor relations contribute directly to low liquidity and poor valuations. When information is scarce, investors price in uncertainty.
That uncertainty becomes a discount. Nigerian companies often complain about undervaluation, but undervaluation is frequently self-inflicted.
There is also a governance angle. Regular engagement forces discipline. It reduces the room for surprises and sharp practices. It aligns management more closely with shareholders. Markets with strong disclosure cultures tend to have fewer shocks because issues are surfaced early.
Finally, there is a national interest argument. Nigeria needs deeper capital markets to fund growth, pensions and long-term savings. That cannot happen in an environment where listings are passiv,e and communication is optional. Trust is built through repetition, consistency and openness.
Discontinuing listing by introduction and mandating basic investor relations behaviour would not be radical. It would simply be a signal that the NGX is serious about quality, liquidity and long-term credibility.
The question is not whether the market can handle higher standards. It is whether it can afford not to.
No company goes silent after listing by introduction so far they are meeting the post listing requirements. NGX has confirmed scoring over 90 percent in companies submitting quarterly reports. So that is not silence. Companies have been suspended for not meeting up with their obligations. Thomas Wyatt is still on suspension. So the NGX is doing fairly okay in this area