Stakeholders Discuss Roles of Shareholders in Driving Corporate Governance

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

A workshop designed to educate investors, especially those in the retail end of the curve, on how they can improve corporate governance has been organised by the Nigerian Exchange Regulation (NGX RegCo) Limited.

The two-day event, which took place on Thursday, November 23, and Friday, November 24, 2023, was themed Rights and Responsibilities of Shareholders in Driving Corporate Governance.

According to the NGX RegCo, the seminar was designed to promote a transparent and fair market, with participants agreeing that all hands must be on deck to sanitize the market and bring the boards and management of listed companies to be responsible with the aim of spurring capital market development.

Speaking at the programme, the chief executive of the organisation, Ms Tinuade Awe, said she was delighted that her company carried out a physical engagement with retail shareholders, which had not been possible since the COVID-19 work disruptions.

The founder and Principal Partner at Balliol Myers LP, a commercial law practice and multi-disciplinary strategy consultancy based in Lagos, Mr Femi Desmond Ojumu, in his presentation, discussed the provisions of the Investment and Securities Act (ISA) 2007, the NCCG 2018 and CAMA 2020 with respect to shareholders’ rights and obligations.

Other speakers at the event were Yussuf Apena of ARM Pensions Limited; Mr Uchenna Uwechia, Lead Consultant/CEO of Arete Dunamis Corporate Consulting Limited; Mr Adebayo Adetunji Adeleke, a veteran investor in the Nigerian capital market and shareholder activist on the platform of Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN).

Representatives of several Shareholder Associations and other members of the retail shareholder community attended the event and openly expressed their views on their expectations from the regulators and the shareholder associations as well.

They emphasized the fact that communications with stakeholders must be mutually respectful to generate the right type of actions.

The shareholders commended NGX RegCo for putting the workshop together which they suggested should be made an annual event.