Share holders explain that it is indeed a troubling trend that should be addressed. A troubling narrative for Africa’s leading stock market .
Since the dawn of 2020, there has been a rush in NSE delistings most are regulatory induced, the roster of the departed is long, with famed voluntary delistings that include 11 Plc (2021), Ardova Petroleum (2023), ARBICO Plc (2024), and MRS Oil itself (2025). How about NGX reduce its regulatory demands that look like burden to struggling companies.
MRS Oil Nigeria Plc’s shares were exited from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) on 28 July 2025, it was not an anomaly; it was latest symptom of a chronic ailment, marking yet another chapter.. The petroleum marketer was valued at ₦51.3 billion at exit, citing operational flexibility and cost savings as major motivations for delisting. Dozens of firms have given this and other reasons for fleeing the bourse over the past five years.
Raging inflation, forex volatility, and Naira devaluation has created inclement operating conditions which battered earnings and made public listings onerous, pushing many firms to elect private status or over-the-counter trading to escape pressures from compliance costs.
Regulatory implementations in 2024 ushered 14 companies like Niger Insurance and RAK Unity Petroleum out of the NGX in 2024 for non-compliance.
Year 2025 has seen eight companies walk out of the Exchange’s door they are Notore Chemical Industries, Smart Products Nigeria, Capital Oil, Goldlink Insurance, Med-View Airline, Tourist Company of Nigeria, Union Homes Savings, Glaxo SmithKline, and Flour Mills of Nigeria all bade goodbye to the gongs. From energy to finance, only a few sectors have been spared.
While NGX has works to do to stem the tide and curb capital erosion, the companies must address persistent reporting failures or weak operations. NGX's market capitalisation hovered around ₦94 trillion as of late 2025, but the value could have been ₦1 trillion or 1.5 per cent higher over five years. Cumulative exit values stood at around ₦330 billion from 2025 alone while previous waves blew away ₦500 billion. The implication is dire as it signals waning investor confidence on one hand and limits capital-raising options for a cash-impecunious economy on the other.
A solution is urgently needed. And that solution must be multiforme. The NGX should review listing costs and compliance requirements to ensure they are not harsh; Market-making mechanisms should be improved to boost liquidity for mid-cap stocks; targeted tax incentives should be fashioned for publicly listed companies.
Policies that facilitate forex access for foreign portfolio investors must also be formulated to increase the NGX’s attraction. This way, the core challenge of making public listing a strategically beneficial option rather than a regulatory burden will be collaboratively addressed, and the alarmingly deafening continued silence of the gong for departing companies will be muted.
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