Iking Ferry

16/09/2026

BEFORE YOU INVEST IN ANY EQUITY FUND, THERE IS ONE THING I WANT YOU TO CHECK FIRST.

A follower asked me a very important question under my last post:
“If I’m interested in Paramount Equity Fund on the InvestNaija app, what are the right questions to ask aside from risk tolerance? Should I include debts, assets, etc.?”

Yes. Your debts, assets, income and financial responsibilities matter.

But there is something else I personally look at very closely on every FUND MANAGER.
In Finance we called it the Company "Rating"

For example, Paramount Fund (Equity) is managed by Chapel Hill Denham. And Agusto & Co. currently rates Chapel Hill Denham AA-(IM), with the rating expiring on December 27, 2026.

Now, I know many of you are probably asking:
“Iking Ferry, what is this AA-(IM) thing?”

Oya calm down.
Let me explain.....
Imagine Mama Ngozi is selling Tomatoes in Alaba international Market.
Now...
Let's imagine there is an independent organisation whose job is to examine tomato sellers and rate how well they run their business.

They come to Mama Ngozi's shop.
They don't just ask:
“How many tomatoes did you sell?”
No.
They look at everything.
Are her tomatoes fresh?
Does she remove the rotten ones?
Does she cover them properly so flies don't perch on them?
Is her shop clean?
Does she keep her tomatoes properly?
Does she treat customers well?
When a customer returns a bad tomato, does she listen?
Does she quarrel with customers?
Does she keep proper records?
Does she know how much she bought the tomatoes for and how much she is selling them for?
Can the staff and team members manage the business properly even when Mama Ngozi is not there?

After examining all these things, the organisation may say:
“Mama Ngozi has very strong business and management practices.”
That is the simple way I want you to understand a rating.

A rating agency examines the organisation, its people, systems, processes, management and risk-management capabilities and gives an independent assessment.

And yes, Every rating company in Nigeria including Agusto & Co. is registered and licence by the Securities and Exchange Commission as a Rating Agency.

So when I see AA-(IM) for Chapel Hill Denham, I don't read it as:
“This fund will definitely make money.”

NO.
It is not a guarantee of returns.
It is an assessment of the investment manager's capability and systems for managing investments and risks.
Agusto's current release says Chapel Hill Denham's rating is supported by its operational track record, documented investment and risk-management processes, experienced decision-making committees and experienced personnel.
That distinction is VERY important.

Because...
A GOOD TOMATO SELLER TODAY CAN STILL HAVE BAD TOMATOES TOMORROW.
In the same way, a highly rated investment manager can still manage a fund whose value falls.
Why?
Because the rating of the manager is not the same thing as a guarantee of the fund's future performance.

So when I'm researching an equity fund, I don't stop at:
“How much did this fund make?”
I also ask:
Who is managing my money?
How capable is the manager?
What companies does the fund invest in?
How has the fund performed?
What fees am I paying?
How diversified is it?
When can I withdraw?

And then I look at my own financial situation:
Do I have emergency savings?
Do I have expensive debt?
Will I need this money soon?
What percentage of my money am I investing?
What exactly am I trying to achieve?

Because investing is not just about finding a good investment.
THE INVESTMENT MUST ALSO FIT YOUR LIFE.

This is why I always tell people:
Don't ask only, “How much will I make?”
Ask:
“What am I buying, who is managing it, what are the risks, and does this investment make sense for my financial situation?”

The deeper you go into investing, the more you realise that investment is not gambling or Ponzi with better English.
You are supposed to understand what you are putting your money into.
And that is exactly why I built Fokona to democratize and localize financial knowledge so ordinary Nigerians can understand money and make better-informed financial decisions.

My name is Iking Ferry,
A financial literacy advocate and investment strategist, on a mission to build 10 million financially free Nigerians and Africans through the right knowledge.

Learn first. Invest second.

Let me ask you a question.
Have you heard about rating Agency in the Financial market before or this is your first time?

16/09/2026

YOU DON'T KNOW ME. YOU ONLY KNOW WHAT YOU SEE ON FACEBOOK.

I saw this comment under my post and honestly, I think it gives me an opportunity to explain something many people need to understand.

She said:
“I understand you make your money by talking/teaching people how to make money…”

My sister, let me tell you something.
YOU DON'T KNOW ME.
And that is not an insult.
It is simply the reality.
You have seen some of my posts on Facebook, and from those posts, you have created a picture of who I am, how I make money and what my intentions are.
But social media is only a small window into somebody's life.

Let me give you a little information you probably have never seen me share on this page before.

FIRST, I DON'T CHARGE PEOPLE TO LEARN STOCK MARKET FROM ME.
You can literally come to this page and learn.
I talk about the Nigerian stock market.
I explain investments.
I explain financial statements.
I explain money market funds.
I explain taxation.
I explain businesses.
I explain wealth creation.
And I give out this information publicly.
FREE.

So when you see me teaching people about investing, don't automatically conclude that my business model is:
“Teach people how to invest, collect money from everybody.”
No.
That is not how my life works.

Let me open small record about myself today.
BEFORE I STARTED TALKING ABOUT FINANCE ON FACEBOOK, I WAS ALREADY BUILDING BUSINESSES.

And let me start with the small one.
There is a company called NaijaTraffic.ng that I founded in 2018.
Today, that company operates in the digital marketing space and has processed over ₦8 billion in revenue for our clients through the campaigns and digital marketing work we have handled.
Aside Finance...
I am a digital marketer by Profession.
I have been doing this for more than 9 years
And funny enough, this is probably the first time many people reading this are hearing me say all of this on this page.
Why?
Because I don't come here every morning to tell you:
“Look at my company.”
“Look at what we have done.”
“Look at how much money we have made.”
I come here to teach.

But let me make something VERY clear before somebody reads this and starts calling me a billionaire.
I AM NOT A BILLIONAIRE.
I am not even a millionaire.
In fact, if I should be honest with you, the cash sitting in my personal bank account right now, I don't even have up to ₦40,000.
Yes.
You read that correctly.
That's to tell you how broke I am.
So please don't look at my business activities and conclude that I am sitting somewhere with billions in my personal account.

And also don't look at my bank balance and conclude that I have achieved nothing.
A person's bank balance at one particular moment is not the complete story of the person's financial life.
That is one of the biggest lessons I want you to take from this post.

NOW, WHY DO I TEACH FINANCIAL LITERACY?

Because it is my mission.
Look at the intro and outro on many of my posts.
I have repeatedly said that I am on a mission to help build 10 million financially free Nigerians and Africans through the right knowledge.
Now think about it.
If my major objective was simply to make money from teaching people about finance, would I be giving away this much information publicly?

Would I be spending hours explaining things people can learn without paying me?
Would I build a platform like Fokona where people can ask financial questions and learn from other people?

The idea is simple:
If you have financial knowledge, help somebody else learn.
And we even created a system where people who contribute valuable knowledge can earn creator points that can be converted to money.

So somebody can come to Fokona to learn.
Somebody else can come to Fokona to teach.
And the person teaching can also earn.
Because...
Knowledge should not only be something you consume. It can also become something you contribute.
That is the bigger picture.

AND YES, YOU ALL CAN CALL ME A CONTENT CREATOR.
You can call me a blogger.
You can call me a business person.
You can call me a digital marketer.
You can call me a financial literacy advocate.
You can call me whatever you want.
You are right.
Because all those things describe different parts of what I do.
The mistake is thinking that one label explains the entire person.
It doesn't.

NOW LET'S TALK ABOUT DANGOTE.
This is where I want many people to think differently.
I have seen people complain about the price of Dangote products.
And I understand why consumers complain when prices become difficult for them.

If Mama Ngozi goes to the market today and the price of sugar has increased again, she has every right to ask:
“Why is this thing becoming this expensive?”
But the next question should be:
WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT?

Because sometimes we complain to the wrong person.
If you believe the prices of a product in Nigeria are too high, you can ask questions about:
Government policies
Taxes and levies
Import duties
Energy costs
Transportation
Exchange rates
Competition
Supply and demand
Production costs
Market structure
Consumer protection
And the policies affecting businesses and consumers.
Those are bigger issues than simply saying:
“Dangote should reduce his price.”

Let me give you a example.
Some months ago, I had a tyre problem around Third Mainland Bridge in the Night.
A vulcanizer helped me remove the tyre and fix the problem.
I didn't even negotiate the price before he started.
When he finished, I gave him ₦5,000.
The man became angry.
He was asking for ₦300,000.
I was like:
“₦300,000 to change a tyre?”

This was not even a situation where he supplied me a new tyre.
The tyre was already there.
He was simply removing one and putting the other one.
And before you know it, the situation became heated.
At that point, I asked myself:
“What exactly is happening in Nigeria?”

Now imagine somebody selling a service to you.
The person has his own cost.
You have your own cost.
The person wants profit.
You want affordability.
The market determines what people are willing to pay.
And everybody is complaining about everybody.
This is Nigeria.

So when you look at the price of a Dangote product and say:
“This man is too expensive.”
I am not saying you should accept any price blindly.
I'm saying:
UNDERSTAND THE SYSTEM BEHIND THE PRICE.
Because if you suddenly put many Nigerians in the exact same business environment, facing the same costs, risks, taxes, energy problems, logistics problems, financing costs and market conditions, you may discover that pricing a product is much more complicated than it looks from outside.

Let me make that very clear.
I am not here to defend Dangote.
If a company does something wrong, it should be questioned.
If consumers are being treated unfairly, they should speak.
If government policy is hurting consumers, government should be questioned.

But let's learn how to direct our questions to the right place.
If you believe a market needs stronger regulation or consumer protection, ask the relevant government institution or regulator.
But...
Don't simply transfer every frustration you have about the Nigerian economy to one businessman.
Because the Nigerian economy is much bigger than Dangote.

My name is Iking Ferry,
I teach financial literacy because I believe financial knowledge should not belong only to people who can afford expensive advisers.

What do you think?
Have you ever judged somebody from what you saw on social media, only to later discover that there was a completely different story behind the person?

16/09/2026

SOME OF YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND THE POWER OF YOUR WORDS.

Yesterday, I made a post responding to the whole Dangote IPO conversation, and some of the comments were interesting.

But let me address one particular issue.
Comparing an IPO with MMM and saying “this IPO looks like a Ponzi scheme” is a very serious statement.

Do you know what that can do?
You have influence.
Someone who doesn't understand the capital market sees their favourite person saying:
“This IPO looks like a Ponzi scheme.”

And immediately concludes:
“Then it must be a Ponzi scheme.”
They may decide not to participate.
They may discourage their family.
They may withdraw money.
They may spread the same claim to thousands of other people.

This is how information can affect a market.
And this is why you have to be very careful with the things you say about investments.

LET ME TEACH YOU SOMETHING MANY PEOPLE DON'T KNOW.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is the apex regulatory authority for Nigeria's capital market.

Under the New Investments and Securities Act 2025, the SEC's objectives include protecting investors, maintaining fair, efficient and transparent markets, and protecting the market against market abuse and insider dealing.
The Act also contains offences relating to false or misleading information and fraudulent schemes, with criminal penalties in applicable circumstances.

So when you are talking about an investment opportunity to thousands or millions of people, you need to understand the responsibility that comes with that influence.
This is not about whether I like Dangote.
It is not about whether I like VeryDarkMan.
It is about the market.

And let me give you an example with your bank so you will understand how the financial system works better.

Do you know that?
If there is any serious incident affecting any bank, like a hacker gaining access to their system and diverting Depositors funds, or maybe there is a Bank Robbery in any of their Branches, the Bank has know right to wake up on social media and shout:
“Everybody run! Our bank has been hacked!”

It's only The CBN which is the Apex bank that has the right to make a public statements about the incidence First.
Because...
There are regulatory processes for handling serious incidents and communicating information to the public.
Why?
Because imagine millions of depositors suddenly hearing:
“Your bank is in trouble”

What happens?
Everybody starts rushing to withdraw their money.
That can create panic.
And panic can create problems far beyond the original incident.

This is why financial regulators exist in every Market.
The same principle of maintaining confidence and stability matters in the capital market.

NOW, SOME OF YOU ARE SAYING:
“Dangote paid Iking to defend him.”

My brother, Dangote did not pay me to spend seven years studying finance.
Dangote did not pay for my MBA.
Dangote did not pay me to learn about the capital market.
I don't work for Dangote.
I am simply using the little knowledge I have spent years acquiring to educate people.

And please understand this:
I DID NOT START EDUCATING PEOPLE BECAUSE OF DANGOTE IPO.

Go back through my old posts two years ago.
Look at what I have been teaching before this IPO became popular.
Stocks.
Taxes.
Mutual funds.
Financial statements.
Personal finance.
Wealth building.
Capital markets.
Trust and Generational Wealth Protection.
This is what I do.

And I will say this again:
I am not here to tell you that Dangote IPO is perfect.
I am not here to tell you to buy it.
I am not here to tell you not to buy it.
I am here to help you understand what you are looking at before you make your own decision.
That is the difference.

And if I disagree with something your favourite person said, don't make it personal.
Take the statement.
Examine it.
Check the evidence.
Then decide whether it makes sense.

Because your favourite person can be right today and wrong tomorrow.
The same applies to me.
Nobody is right about everything.
Not even Iking Ferry.
And that is exactly why we need financial literacy, not financial fandom.

My Name is Iking Ferry
A Financial Literacy Advocate and Investment Strategist on a Mission to Build 10 million Financially Free Nigerians via Fokona with the right Knowledge.

15/09/2026

IS DANGOTE REFINERY IPO A PONZI SCHEME?

This morning, one of my staff came to me and said:
“Sir, some of my friends are saying this Dangote IPO is a Ponzi scheme.”

I looked at her and asked:
“Ponzi scheme? And what did you tell them?”
She said:
“I'm scared because I have already put my money there. I don't want to lose my money.”

I laughed and said:
“You have been working with us for over three months now, and you are still scared of an IPO?”
I didn't even think much about it at first.

This evening, when I opened Facebook.
I started seeing people tagging me everywhere.
“Iking Ferry, what do you think about what VeryDarkMan said?”
“Iking Ferry, is Dangote IPO really a Ponzi scheme?”
“Iking, please explain this.”

So I watched the video.
And finally, I understood what my staff was talking about in the office.

Now, let me make something very clear:
I am not writing this post to support VeryDarkMan.
And I am not writing it to defend Dangote.

I am writing this as a financial literacy advocate and investment strategist to explain what people are actually buying.
And there are two completely different issues on what Verydarkman Said.

First of all...
VeryDarkMan raised a question about receiving a Dangote IPO promotional SMS from MTN.
Interestingly, I also received the Dangote IPO SMS from MTN Nigeria
And yes, I understand why that can make somebody uncomfortable.
My question is also simple:
How did MTN decide to send this particular investment promotion to my private number?

Was it MTN's own marketing campaign?
Was it a partnership?
Was there some form of customer segmentation?
Was my number shared with a third party?
What exactly happened?

Those are legitimate questions.

But I want to be very careful here.
Receiving a promotional SMS does not by itself prove that Dangote received your phone number, bought your number from MTN, or has access to your private calls like Verydarkman Alleged.
We need evidence before making that conclusion.
That is why, in my opinion, MTN should explain the basis for the marketing communication clearly.
And this is exactly why our data privacy matters.

Now, Let's Come To The Big Question:

IS DANGOTE REFINERY IPO REALLY A PONZI SCHEME?

NO.
Let me repeat it:
AN IPO IS NOT A PONZI SCHEME.

And I will explain why.
A Ponzi scheme generally depends on money from new participants being used to pay earlier participants, rather than returns being generated by a genuine underlying business or investment activity.

An IPO is completely different.
An Initial Public Offering is simply a process through which a company offers shares to the public and becomes publicly traded.

Let me tell you the truth...
You are not giving Dangote your ₦5,250 with a promise:
“Bring another person and I will pay you.”

No.
You are buying shares in a company.
That means you are buying a small ownership interest in that company.
And Dangote Refinery is not the first company in Nigeria, or the world to do IPO.

Let me use the ₦5,250 for Example.
You see:
10 shares × ₦525 = ₦5,250.
Somebody sees that and says:
“How can a company worth trillions be asking ordinary Nigerians for only ₦5,250?”

That question sounds reasonable until you understand shares.
Because....
A company can be worth trillions of naira and still sell individual shares for a few hundred naira.
Why?
Because share price depends partly on how many shares the company has created.

Dangote Refinery's public offer is for 4.1 billion new ordinary shares at ₦525 each, potentially raising about ₦2.15 trillion if fully subscribed.

So please my brother don't look at:
“₦525 per share.”
and conclude:
“This company is cheap.”
Or:
“This company is a scam.”

Neither conclusion follows from the share price alone.
You have to look at:
The number of shares.
The company's valuation.
Its earnings.
Its assets.
Its debts.
Its future cash flows.
Its growth prospects.
Its risks.
And the price you are paying for that ownership.
That is what we called "valuation" in finance.

BUT....
HERE IS WHERE I THINK PEOPLE ARE GETTING CONFUSED

As a Digital Marketing Strategist....
I understand why some people are suspicious.
Because...
The marketing around this IPO is very loud.
₦5,250.
“Own a piece of Dangote.”
“People's IPO.”
Millions of Nigerians are talking about it.
Investment platforms are pushing it.
Banks are talking about it.
Social media is talking about it.
And because the minimum investment is relatively small, it feels like everybody can participate.

The hype is enormous.
And yes, I think people should be careful with hype.
But:
HYPE DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY MAKE SOMETHING A PONZI SCHEME.

A legitimate investment can be heavily marketed.
A legitimate investment can also be badly priced.
A legitimate investment can make you money.
A legitimate investment can also lose you money.
Those are different questions.

Now..
As your Financial Literacy Advocate
Let me tell you something many people don't know about the CAPITAL MARKET

You cannot just wake up one morning and say:
“I have a company. Give me ₦2 trillion from Nigerians.”

There is a regulatory process.
Infact:
Every Public offers go through regulatory registration and review, including the Securities and Exchange Commission, with offer documentation, financial information, professional advisers and other required documentation.
The SEC's registration checklist includes items such as audited accounts, draft prospectus, issuing-house agreements and underwriting documents, while allotment itself is also subject to a regulatory process.

And for this particular IPO, the SEC has formally approved the Dangote Refinery public offer and published an investor notice telling the public to use only approved channels and to read the approved prospectus and understand the risks.

So this is not:
“Dangote or the Rich wakes up and collects money from Nigerians.”

There is a regulated capital-market structure behind those transaction.
That does not mean the investment is guaranteed to make money.
Please understand the difference.

SO IKING, IS DANGOTE IPO A PONZI SCHEME?

NO.
But does that mean:
“Everybody should buy it?”
No.
Does it mean:
“The share price must go up?”
No.
Does it mean:
“₦525 is cheap?”
No.
Does it mean:
"₦525 is Expensive?"
No.
Does it mean:
“Dangote cannot lose money?”
Absolutely not.

What it means is simply that:
You are participating in a regulated public share offering to become part of the owner in a real company.

Whether that ownership eventually makes you richer or poorer depends on the business, the price you paid, future performance of the Company, market conditions and investor demand.
That is investing for you.

And this is why I have a problem when we reduce complex financial decisions to:
“Buy.”
or
“Don't buy.”

Please...
If You are putting your money into something.
Understand it.
Don't let Dangote's name make you buy blindly.

Don't let VeryDarkMan's video make you reject it blindly either.
Think for yourself.

Because financial literacy is not about teaching you what to buy.
Financial literacy is teaching you how to think before you buy.
And this is why we built Fokona to promote financial literacy in Nigeria and across Africa.
Because....
When you are financially intelligent, you make a better investment decisions.

My name is Iking Ferry,
Founder Pulseford Business School
A Financial Literacy advocate and investment strategist, on a mission to build 10 million financially free Nigerians and Africans through Fokona with the right knowledge.

Learn first. Invest second.
How many of you received the same Marketing SMS from MTN too?

15/09/2026

Did you buy DANGOTE REFINERY IPO if Yes... Why did you Buy? And if No, What is your Reason?

15/09/2026

Anybody that read this post from beginning to the end yesterday, will be seating on wealth by Now

THE DANGOTE REFINERY IPO OPENS TODAY, BUT THERE IS ONE BIGGER STORY MOST PEOPLE ARE NOT TALKING ABOUT

Today, September 14, the Dangote Refinery IPO opens.

And let me tell you something:
This is bigger than Dangote Refinery.
It is bigger than Aliko Dangote.
It is even bigger than the ₦2.15 trillion the refinery is trying to raise.

Because if you understand what is about to happen, you will realise that the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX Group) is also sitting in a very interesting position.
And this is one of the things I have been studying very closely.

Let me explain.
FIRST, LET ME TALK ABOUT THE NGX GROUP

If you are buying the Dangote Refinery IPO, you are looking at Dangote Refinery.
You are asking:
“Will this company make money?”
“Will the share price rise?”
“Will I make profit?”
Those are good questions.
But there is another question I think many investors should be asking:

Who else is going to make money from all this activity?
I have said this to my Students on Fokona last year....and, I have also said this in my last NGX Group Stock Analysis.

But.....
Let me bring it home again..
Imagine Mama Ngozi sells tomatoes in the village market.
Suddenly, one of the biggest traders in the market opens a massive new shop.
Thousands of people start coming into that market.
People are buying.
People are selling.
People are moving money.
People are opening new stalls.
Who makes money besides the big trader?
The market itself.
That is how I look at NGX Group.

NGX GROUP IS GOING TO BENEFIT FROM THIS DANGOTE REFINERY IPO

And I am not changing my words here:
I believe NGX Group's share price is going to increase.
Why?
Because Dangote Refinery is bringing something very important to the Nigerian capital market:
MORE BUSINESS.

First, there are listing-related fees.
When a company of this size comes into the Nigerian Exchange, there are fees associated with bringing and maintaining that listing.
in Finance we called this "Pre-listing and Post-listing Fees".
And NGX itself publishes listing requirements and fees for issuers.

But that is just the beginning.
The bigger opportunity comes after the listing.
Because once Dangote Refinery eventually enters the secondary market, something very interesting is going to happen.

PEOPLE WILL START TRADING THE SHARES
Somebody will buy.
Somebody else will sell.
Another person will buy because they believe the price is going higher.
Another person will sell because they have reached their target.
Somebody will take profit.
Somebody will panic.
Somebody will hear a rumour and buy.
Somebody will see the price falling and sell.
Somebody who could not get the number of shares they wanted during the IPO will enter the secondary market.
Trading activity will increase.

And when trading activity increases, the exchange itself can generate more transaction-related revenue.
This is why I am paying attention to NGX Group.

Please note....
NGX Group is not Dangote Refinery.
But Dangote Refinery can become a major business catalyst for NGX Group.
And For those of you that read my last Stock analysis on NGX Group will agree with me that the 2026 numbers already show how important transaction activity and listing activity are to its business.

So, personally, as an investor and as a business owner, I see a very strong business case for NGX Group benefiting from this development.

NOW LET US LOOK AT THE HYPE AROUND THIS IPO
This is another thing that fascinates me.
I have never seen an IPO in Africa generate this kind of public attention.

I can say this from my own experience.
Almost every call I have received this week has been about one thing:
“Iking, what do you think about the Dangote IPO?”

At some point, I was actually scared because...
People who have been hearing me talk and preach about investing in the Nigerian stock market for years but never took it seriously...
They are calling me now.

People who have never asked me about shares before...
They are asking me now.
Even people from places where I never expected this information to reach are asking:
“Should I buy Dangote?”

That tells me something.
The market is attracting a completely new group of people.
And that is both exciting and dangerous.
Because when you have this level of excitement, you don't only get investors.
You get speculators.
And Nigerians love speculation.

But....Let's be honest.
BECAUSE, THIS IS WHERE THINGS GET VERY INTERESTING
There is something I want you to understand about the Nigerian stock market.
Speculators are part of the market.
Yes.
They are not necessarily bad.
But they behave differently from long-term investors.

An investor may say:
“I have studied the company. I understand the fundamentals. I want to hold this business for five years.”
A speculator may say:
“I think this thing will move from ₦525 to ₦1,000. Let me enter before everybody else.”

And when thousands of people start thinking like the second person...
prices can move very quickly.
This is why I believe the Dangote Refinery share price is going to experience serious demand and serious speculation when it enters the secondary market.
And personally, based on the sentiment surrounding this IPO, I believe the share price can cross ₦3,000 per share.
I am making that as my personal market view, not as a guarantee.

And let me explain why I think it is possible.

LOOK AT WHAT HAPPENED TO ZICHIS

And I think This is one of the most interesting recent examples.
Zichis Agro-Allied came to the NGX in January 2026 at about ₦1.99 per share.
Within weeks, the stock surged to ₦17.36 at its February peak, an increase of more than 800%.
The move eventually attracted regulatory attention and trading was suspended temporarily.

Now before you misunderstand me , I am not saying Dangote Refinery is Zichis.
They are completely different businesses.
I am using Zichis to demonstrate something about market behaviour, especially to new investors in the market.
Because...
When a new company enters the market and investors start comparing it with other companies in the same broad sector, expectations can move faster than the underlying business.
That is exactly what happens in the Capital market.

NOW IMAGINE WHAT WILL HAPPEN WITH DANGOTE REFINERY

The IPO price is ₦525.
Now imagine the stock enters the secondary market.
People will immediately start asking:
“How much is Seplat trading for?”
And right now, Seplat is trading at around ₦14,908 per share based on the NGX's September 11 data.

Of course, Seplat and Dangote Refinery are NOT the same business.
Seplat is primarily an oil and gas exploration and production company.
Dangote Refinery is a downstream refining and petrochemicals business.

So you cannot simply say:
“Seplat is ₦14,908, therefore Dangote should also be ₦14,908.”
That would be terrible analysis.
But ordinary market participants don't always analyse companies that way.
They compare.
They look at the numbers.
They look at the sector.
They look at the size of the company.
They look at the name.
They look at the hype.
They asked "between Dangote and Seplat which is more valuable"?
And then they make their own calculations.
That is how market sentiment works.

AND THERE IS ANOTHER PROBLEM:

FOMO.
Fear of missing out.
Imagine somebody subscribes for ₦1 million.
Because the IPO is heavily demanded, they don't receive the full ₦1 million worth of shares.
Maybe they receive only ₦500,000 worth.
The remaining ₦500,000 comes back to them.

Now they see the stock enter the secondary market and the price starts moving.
What do you think some of these people will do?
They will say:
“I wanted ₦1 million worth before. They only gave me ₦500,000. Let me use the remaining money to buy more.”

That creates another layer of demand in the market.
And this is why oversubscription can create an interesting secondary-market dynamic.

The IPO itself may not satisfy everybody who wants exposure.
Because...
Some investors who receive less than they wanted may come back to the market.
And then you have people who didn't participate in the IPO at all.
They will also want to enter.
Then you have traders.
Then long-term investors.
Then institutional investors.
Then people chasing momentum.
Then people selling for profit.
You now have a market.

AND THIS IS WHY I AM WATCHING NGX GROUP
Because all of this activity doesn't happen in the air.
It happens through the capital-market infrastructure.
More investors.
More trading.
More transactions.
More market activity.
More visibility for the Nigerian capital market.
And that creates opportunities for the businesses that provide the infrastructure.
That is why I believe NGX Group is going to benefit from this.
Remember:
Some months ago.... I said it here that the Nigeria Capital Market Equity Cap will cross ₦200 to ₦220 Trillion this year.
And I don't think this is something investors should ignore.

NOW LET'S TALK ABOUT THE INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS

Another thing I noticed while studying this IPO is the level of institutional and professional-market interest around it.
The offer has a huge ecosystem behind it, banks, issuing houses, stockbrokers, fintechs and other approved distribution channels.

The official Dangote IPO platform lists numerous banks, issuing houses and stockbrokers involved in the transaction.

The company has also secured a $400 million underwriting commitment, alongside a broader underwriting programme.
And this is why you are seeing investment firms producing their own valuation models.
You have seen Big names like:
CardinalStone.
Chapel Hill Denham.
Renaissance.
And others.

Some may ask IKING....
Why are they doing all these valuations?
Because this is not just another small IPO.

Everybody is trying to answer one question:
“At ₦525, what is this company actually worth?”
That is the question investors should be asking too.
Not:
“Dangote is a billionaire, should I buy?”
No.
Study the business.

NOW LET ME TALK ABOUT THE ₦10,000 CLAIM

There is another thing I have seen making rounds the social media.
Aliko Dangote has reportedly said that the refinery's shares could eventually trade around ₦10,000 per share.

Let me be very clear:
I am not saying it is impossible.
It is possible.
Very possible.
But I consider that a very bullish and ambitious claim, not something you should use as your investment thesis.
And I am not saying this because I know more than Dangote.
I don't.
But there is something every investor must understand:
Aliko Dangote does not control the market price of Dangote Refinery after the shares begin trading in the secondary market.
He can build the business.
He can expand the refinery.
He can improve profitability.
He can execute the strategy.
He can make the company stronger.

But once the shares are trading publicly, the market determines the price.
Demand determines price.
Supply determines price.
Earnings matter.
Expectations matter.
Interest rates matter.
Investor sentiment matters.
Global oil prices matter.
Refining margins matter.
The Nigerian economy matters.
And sometimes...
psychology matters.

So don't buy the stock because Dangote himself said it could reach ₦10,000.
Buy it because you have studied the business and you are comfortable with the risk.

NOW LET ME TELL YOU WHAT I THINK WILL HAPPEN

I have studied the numbers.
I have studied the valuation.
I have studied the market.
I have studied Nigerian investor behaviour.
And I have watched the level of hype surrounding this IPO.

My conclusion is simple:
I expect this stock to attract enormous attention when it enters the secondary market.
I expect strong demand.
I expect serious speculation.
I expect people who could not get their desired IPO allocation to look for shares in the secondary market.
I expect people who ignored the IPO to suddenly want to buy.
I expect traders to enter.
I expect investors to enter.
I expect people who have never bought a Nigerian stock before to enter.
And because of all these factors, I believe the stock can trade significantly above ₦525 after listing.
My personal market view is that ₦3,000 and above is achievable.
But please listen carefully:
Achievable does not mean guaranteed (before una go begin buy because IKING said ₦3,000).

And ₦10,000?
That is a completely different level.
For ₦525 to become ₦10,000, the market would need to sustain an enormous increase in the company's valuation.
That requires much more than hype.
It requires earnings, growth, ex*****on, capacity expansion, profitability and sustained investor confidence.

BUT HERE IS THE BIGGEST MISTAKE YOU CAN MAKE

Don't look at ₦525 and say:
“It's only ₦525.”
That is not how you value a stock.
Because....
A ₦500 stock can be expensive.
A ₦5,000 stock can be cheap.
The price of one share is not the value of the company.
You have to look at the number of shares.
You have to look at market capitalisation.
You have to look at earnings.
You have to look at cash flow.
You have to look at growth.
You have to look at debt.
You have to look at the future.
That is what investing means.

AND PLEASE DON'T FORGET THE ACTUAL BUSINESS

Dangote Refinery is currently operating at around 650,000 to 700,000 barrels per day, and the company has announced plans to expand capacity to about 1.4 million barrels per day by 2029, with the expansion programme estimated at roughly $14.3 billion.
The refinery also reported $1.82 billion profit in the first half of 2026, after recording a loss in 2025.
Those are serious numbers.

But they also tell us something:
The future expectations are already part of the conversation.

So the question isn't simply:
“Is Dangote Refinery a good company?”
It may be.
The better question is:
“At ₦525, am I buying this company at a price that gives me enough room for the future risks I am taking?”
That is the investor's question.

BUT IKING, SHOULD I BUY THE DANGOTE IPO?

Yes....If you want to invest, invest.
But please:
Don't invest money you need soon.
If you need the money for your children's school fees next month...
Don't put it in the stock market.
If you need the money for rent...
Don't put it there.
If you borrowed the money...
Please don't use it.
If you are investing with money you can afford to leave for years, then you can start thinking properly.

KNOW WHETHER YOU ARE AN INVESTOR OR A TRADER

If you are a trader, your question may be:
“At what price do I enter?”
“At what price do I exit?”
“How much am I willing to lose?”
“What is my target?”

If you are a long-term investor, your question should be different:
“Do I want to own part of this business for years?”
“Can I tolerate the price falling?”
“Do I understand the company's future?”
“Do I believe management can execute?”

Please oooh...
Don't mix the two.
You cannot enter as a trader and suddenly become a long-term investor 😂 because the price started falling.
And you cannot enter as a long-term investor and start panicking every time the price moves.

MY BROTHER.....
HAVE A PLAN BEFORE YOU BUY

Know your risk appetite Ooooh.
Know how much of your portfolio you want to put into the stock.
Know when you will reassess your position.
Know whether you want to diversify.
Know whether you are looking for capital appreciation, dividends, or both.
And most importantly:
Know why you are buying.
Don't wait until after you buy before you start asking yourself these questions.

IKING WHAT ABOUT DIVIDENDS?

If you are buying Dangote Refinery purely because you want immediate dividend income, that is not the way I would approach this story.

For me, the bigger conversation around this IPO is the company's growth, earnings, expansion and long-term value creation.
If you are positioning for the long term, you should understand that your return can come from both dividends and capital appreciation, but neither should simply be assumed.

ONE MORE VERY IMPORTANT THING OOOH... BEFORE YOU GET SCAM AND BLAME DANGOTE LATER.

If you want to participate in the Dangote Refinery IPO, use an approved channel.
Do not send your money to some random person on WhatsApp who says:
“I can help you buy Dangote shares.”
No.
Don't do it.
The official Dangote IPO website has published the approved banks, fintechs, mobile-money channels and NGX Invest. It specifically warns investors to subscribe only through approved channels..... I have also shared the Channels yesterday... Because I don't want you to make a big mistake.

And if you are serious about investing in the Nigerian stock market, I personally prefer that you understand how your CSCS account and CHN work.
Why?
Because when your shares are allocated, they need to sit in your securities account.
If you already have your CSCS account and a stockbroker, the process becomes much easier to manage.
And when the shares eventually become tradable on the secondary market, you are already positioned to decide whether you want to hold, sell or buy more.

If you don't already have a CSCS account, you can still use an approved subscription channel, but you need to understand how your account and stockbroker relationship will be handled.
Don't just click “buy.”
Understand where the shares are going.

AND PLEASE REMEMBER THIS:

The IPO opens today in the next two hours from now.
The listing is not the same thing as the IPO opening.
The subscription runs from September 14 to October 13, 2026, while trading in the secondary market is expected to begin later, around November.

So don't let somebody tell you:
“Buy today and start trading it today.”
That's not how this works.

HERE IS MY FINAL POSITION ON THIS MATER.

I don't believe the right answer is:
“Everybody should buy Dangote Refinery.”
Neither do I believe the right answer is:
“Nobody should buy it.”
The right answer is:
UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU ARE BUYING.
I believe the Dangote Refinery IPO is going to be one of the most important events in the history of Nigeria's capital market.
I believe the level of public interest is going to bring many new investors into the Nigerian stock market.
I believe speculation will be very high.
I believe trading activity will increase significantly once the shares enter the secondary market.
I believe NGX Group is going to benefit from the increased activity.
Because, when I talk about what is coming on NGX last year, the share price was around ₦45 per shares.
Today...
As of the time of writing this post, the current Share price is ₦148 per share, and I Strongly believe it will hit more than ₦200+ which will become the highest Share price of NGX Group Stock since the Demutualization of the Nigeria Stock Exchange.

I also believe the Dangote Refinery share price can trade significantly above the ₦525 offer price.
And yes, I believe ₦3,000 per share is achievable based on the market behaviour and sentiment I am seeing.
But I am not telling you that ₦3,000 is guaranteed.
And I am certainly not telling you to buy because Dangote himself said the stock could reach ₦10,000.... Remember he is the Promoter, and if i find myself in his position, I will say desame

Because there is one lesson I want you to carry from everything I have written:
EXCITEMENT IS NOT ANALYSIS.
A FAMOUS NAME IS NOT A VALUATION.
A HIGH SHARE PRICE IS NOT THE SAME AS AN EXPENSIVE COMPANY.
AND A LOW SHARE PRICE IS NOT THE SAME AS A CHEAP COMPANY.

Learn first.
Understand your risk.
Have a plan.
Then invest.

And if you want to learn first before investing, visit the Fokona Website, you will learn everything about investing in the Nigeria STOCK Market, more than your 4 years in the University.
Because the goal is not to say:
“I bought Dangote shares.”
The goal is to be able to say:
“I understood what I was buying, why I bought it, how much risk I was taking, and what I planned to do with my money.”
That is financial intelligence.

ONE MORE THING I EXPECT TO HAPPEN TODAY…
In fact, let me tell you the level of activity I expect from this IPO.
I will not be surprised if some investment apps experience technical issues or even crash today because of the sudden traffic from new investors.

And I know what I am saying because I run a tech company.
When you normally have 10,000 people using a platform and suddenly hundreds of thousands or even millions of people start trying to log in, create accounts, fund wallets, check allocations and submit orders around the same period, the infrastructure can come under serious pressure.
And I honestly don't think every investment platform has planned for the number of new investors that may show up today.

So, if you experience:
App refusing to open
Login problems
Slow response
OTP delays
Payment delays
Error messages
Or the platform temporarily becoming unavailable
PLEASE DON'T PANIC.
It does not automatically mean your money is gone.
That is not my point.
My point is simply this:
The Dangote Refinery IPO will expose just how prepared or unprepared some of our investment platforms are for the next wave of Nigerian investors.

My name is Iking Ferry,
Founder Pulseford Business School
A Financial literacy advocate and investment strategist on a mission to build 10 million financially free Nigerians and Africans through Fokona with the right knowledge.

And that is why I keep talking about this.
Learn first. Invest second.

This is educational post, not personalised investment advice. Stocks can rise or fall, and you can lose money. Do your own research and consider your personal financial situation and risk appetite before investing.