The market value of Nigerian gambling magnate Kessington Adebutu’s stake in Wema Bank Plc has reached N314.63 billion, equivalent to approximately $224.74 million, as shares in the lender trade at N26.50 on the Nigerian Exchange.Adebutu holds 11,872,844,847 ordinary shares in Wema Bank through Neemtree Limited, a special purpose vehicle he incorporated in 2013 specifically to accumulate positions in targeted companies. At N26.50 per share, those shares are now worth N314,630,388,445.50, making his Wema Bank position one of the most valuable individual shareholdings in any single Nigerian bank on the exchange.The N314.63 billion valuation places Adebutu’s Wema stake firmly in the quarter-billion-dollar range at current rates, a striking transformation for a position that was worth roughly N20 billion at the start of 2024. The share price rally that has driven the bank’s stock from single digits two years ago to its current level has compounded his returns in a way that few bank investments on the Nigerian Exchange have delivered to a single holder in recent memory.
Adebutu, 90, built his fortune in gaming. He founded Premier Lotto Limited in Lagos in 1977, more than four decades before the Nigerian government began licensing private lottery operators at scale, and ran it through regulatory uncertainty and multiple political transitions into the most dominant gaming brand in the country. His investment in Wema Bank represents the most significant financial sector bet of his business career, and it has proven to be one of his shrewdest.
Wema Bank’s transformation under Managing Director Moruf Oseni has been central to the share price story. The bank posted profit before tax of N222.07 billion for the year ended December 31, 2025, up 116.3% from N102.52 billion a year earlier. Profit after tax rose 124% to N193.19 billion, a figure the bank itself noted surpassed its entire five-year cumulative profit in a single reporting period. Total assets crossed N5 trillion for the first time, growing 40.8% to N5.06 trillion. Customer deposits rose 30.1% to N3.28 trillion.
The bank also declared a dividend of N1.25 per share for the 2025 financial year, its largest payout in its eight-decade history. On his 11,872,844,847 shares, Adebutu’s gross dividend comes to N14.84 billion, or approximately $10.6 million. After the standard 10% withholding tax, his net dividend receipt will be approximately N13.36 billion.
The rights issue Wema completed in 2025 expanded Adebutu’s absolute share count as he participated to maintain his position. The bank raised N157 billion through the offer, which was oversubscribed and helped it clear the Central Bank of Nigeria’s N200 billion minimum capital requirement well ahead of the regulatory deadline. The capital raise diluted his percentage holding meodestly but added to the raw number of shares sitting in Neemtree’s name, a trade-off that has worked strongly in his favour as the price has continued to rise.
