Globacom Chairman Mike Adenuga Jnr, whose business covers  interests in oil exploration, telecommunications and real estate has moved up on the ranking of Africa’s richest man second only  to Aliko Dangote according to Forbes latest ranking.

Forbes magazine said Adenuga’s net worth rose tremendously from $5.3 billion to $9.2 billion.

He is now just $800million away from Dangote Group President Aliko Dangote, whose value shrinked to $10billion, from $12 billion last year.

However, Dangote remains Africa’s richest man for the eighth consecutive time despite the depreciation in his net worth.

Chief Executive Officer of BUA Group, Abdulsamad Rabiu featured on the list for the first time since 2015.

The merger between Rabiu’s Kalambaina Cement firm with the Cement Company of Northern Nigeria, which he controlled, in December, last year, was formally consummated in Sokoto earlier this week. He now owns 97 per cent of the entity.

Kalambaina, which operates a new cement production facility, started selling cement mid-last year just as Rabiu’s OBU Cement has expanded its operations, adding a new production line.

Mrs Folorunsho Alakija, whose net worth depreciated to $1.1 billion from $1.3 billion, was ranked 19th. She currently serves as vice chair, Famfa Oil, an indigenous oil exploration company with a stake in Agbami Oilfield, a prolific offshore asset. Famfa Oil’s partners include Chevron and Petrobras.

The Federal Government awarded Mrs. Alakija’s company an oil prospecting license in 1993, which was later converted to an oil mining lease.

Forbes attributed plunging stock values and weaker currencies for the shrinking in the billionaires club in Africa.

It said: “Buffeted by plunging stock prices and weaker currencies, the number of African billionaires has shrunk to just 20, down from 23 a year ago.

“Four people fell off Forbes’ annual list of the continent’s richest since last year while one returned to the ranks after a four-year absence. All but four members of the list have smaller fortunes than a year ago.”

In a per country ranking, Egypt and South Africa are tied with five billionaires each, followed by Nigeria with four and Morocco-two.