Economy

FMDQ Honours Alade, Onyema, Onasanya, Oduoza, Others

Published

7 years ago

02/11/2017

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

On Friday, October 27, 2017, FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange (FMDQ) held a befitting cocktail reception and dinner party in honour of the immediate past Chairman of the FMDQ Board of Directors, Mrs Sarah Alade, and six other retired Non-Executive Directors, who served the OTC Exchange until April 28, 2017.

The retired Non-Executive Directors who were also honoured at the event were Mr Olabisi Onasanya, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, The Address Homes Ltd.; Mr Phillips Oduoza, Chairman, Nova Merchant Bank Ltd.; Mr Yinka Sanni, Chief Executive, Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC; Alhaji Muhammad Nda, Commissioner/Deputy Chairman, Niger State Planning Commission; Mr Oscar Onyema, Chief Executive Officer, The Nigerian Stock Exchange; and Mr Sadiq Mohammed; Deputy Group Chief Executive Officer, ARM.

The event, which was held at the Intercontinental Hotel, Lagos, was well attended by FMDQ current and inaugural Board of Directors, including the inaugural Chairman, Mr Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, shareholders, FMDQ’s members, including Managing Director/CEOs of banks and other financial institutions, regulators, captains of industry, and the financial markets community in general, as invitees turned out in large numbers to honour the special guest of honour, Mrs Sarah Alade, also former Deputy Governor, Economic Policy Directorate, Central Bank of Nigeria, for her immense contributions to not just FMDQ, but to the Nigerian financial markets as a whole.

Welcoming the honourees and guests to the event, Managing Director/CEO of FMDQ, Mr Bola Onadele Koko, in his address, thanked the honourees for their various contributions to the development of FMDQ and by extension, the Nigerian financial markets.

Speaking about Mrs Alade, Mr Onadele noted that she shepherded the establishment of FMDQ, in collaboration with other financial markets stakeholders, and led the OTC Exchange in accomplishing many firsts such as the listings and quotations of Federal Government of Nigeria Bonds and Treasury Bills on the OTC Exchange, the launch of the Naira-settled OTC FX Futures Market, amongst many others.

Messrs Olabisi Onasanya, Phillips Oduoza, Muhammad Nda and Yinka Sanni, were commended for their service on the FMDQ Board Governance and Human Resources Committee, in shaping the corporate governance standards of FMDQ and creating the foundation for FMDQ to aspire to be an employer of choice; Mr Sadiq Mohammed was commended for his service on the FMDQ Board Listings, Markets and Technology Committee, in positioning FMDQ as a reputable market organiser; and Mr Oscar Onyema, for his immense guidance in establishing FMDQ as a platform for listing debt securities and an effective self-regulatory organisation.

The Chief Host and Chairman of the Board of FMDQ, Dr Okwu Joseph Nnanna, represented by the Vice Chairman of FMDQ, Mr Jibril Aku, during his special remarks expressed gratitude to the honourees, on behalf of the OTC Exchange, for their dedication in discharging their duties to FMDQ and affirmed his commitment to fostering a conducive environment for all stakeholders to build on the foundation which was laid by his predecessors.

The keynote speaker, Mr Bismarck Rewane, during his address, celebrated the special guest, Mrs Sarah Alade, as a focused individual and policy maker with very good intellectual depth, who rose through the ranks in the Nigerian public sector without any blemish to her reputation; he also acknowledged the transparency FMDQ has brought to the Nigerian financial markets.

Mrs Sarah Alade, during her remarks, which followed the unveiling of the publication in her honour, ‘A Securities Exchange as an Agent of Change’ (Vol. 2), a special FMDQ literature chronicling the progress of the OTC Exchange during her tenure as Chairman, expressed her appreciation for the opportunity to serve, while commending the other honourees and current Board Members for creating the enabling environment and offering the needed support for ensuring that FMDQ lived true to its founding mandate to empower the financial markets to be innovative and credible, in support of the Nigerian economy.

Economy

300 Entrepreneurs for MSME Africa Growth Factory Accelerator Program

Published

2 hours ago

24/03/2025

Modupe Gbadeyanka

MSME Africa Growth Factory Accelerator Program

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Three hundred business owners in the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector of the economy have been admitted into the inaugural Growth Factory Accelerator Programme of MSME Africa.

For eight weeks, the beneficiaries will under an intensive training aimed at empowering them with hands-on training, mentorship, and real-world business tools.

The scheme will combine live virtual workshops, self-paced online courses, and exclusive Ask-Me-Anything (AMA) sessions, giving participants a comprehensive, interactive learning experience.

Throughout the accelerator, participants will engage in immersive learning sessions, working on practical business strategies, and collaborating with a diverse community of like-minded entrepreneurs.

The programme’s robust curriculum is designed to equip entrepreneurs with essential business management skills, helping them to better position their businesses for growth.

The participants will have live virtual sessions and pre-recorded content available on Zoom and MSME Africa’s website, enjoy interactive workshops focusing on the real-world application of business skills, and have direct access to experienced mentors and industry experts to answer questions and provide guidance.

In addition, the entrepreneurs will network with fellow entrepreneurs for potential partnerships and growth, and then be assessed to ensure they meet the scheme’s criteria and receive certification upon completion.

By the end of the program, they will be equipped with the tools and knowledge needed to launch their businesses and access vital funding opportunities.

MSME Africa explained that it came up with this initiative to help early to mid-stage entrepreneurs develop the critical skills, knowledge, and network needed to scale their businesses.

The Growth Factory Accelerator Programme is a critical initiative for MSME Africa’s mission to support and grow SMEs across Africa.

With many small businesses facing challenges related to capacity building, access to funding, and growth strategies, this programme will equip participants with the skills they need to overcome these obstacles and succeed in today’s competitive market.

Economy

NASD Exchange Loses N2.95bn in Week 12, Market Cap Falls to N1.939trn

Published

2 hours ago

24/03/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange, for the second consecutive week, ended in the negative region, shedding 8.67 per cent in Week 12 of 2025.

In the week under review, the market capitalisation lost N2.95 billion to close at N1.939 trillion compared with the preceding week’s N1.942 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) dropped 75.07 points to settle at 3,358.61 points versus the previous week’s 3,363.74 points.

Last week, the volume of trades went up by 359.2 per cent to 32.29 million units from the 7.03 million units recorded in the previous week, but the value of transactions went down by 36.2 per cent to N67.6 million from N105.9 million.

The most active stock by value in Week 12 was Geo-Fluids Plc with N31.6 million, Okitipula Plc recorded N17.6 million, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc posted N9.4 million, Afriland Properties Plc achieved N3.9 million, and CSCS Plc reported N3.5 million.

Geo-Fluids Plc was also the most traded equity by volume with 31.3 million units, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc transacted 0.251 million units, Afriland Properties Plc recorded 0.914 million, CSCS Plc traded 0.152 million units, and Food Concepts Plc recorded 0.130 million units.

Afriland Properties Plc suffered the heaviest loss with a decline of 10.8 per cent to trade at N19.50 per share compared with N23.2o per share, Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc slipped by 5.1 per cent to 37 Kobo per unit from 39 Kobo per unit, Geo-Fluids Plc lost 4.9 per cent to end at N2.70 per share versus N2.84 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc depreciated by 4.9 per cent to N37.17 unit from N38.23 per unit, and Food Concepts dropped 2.8 per cent to finish at N1.49 per share versus N1.67 per share.

On the flip side, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gained 5.3 per cent to trade at N22.84 per unit against the previous week’s N21.69 per unit, UBN Property Plc rose by 2.6 per cent to N2.00 per share from N1.95 per share, and Okitipupa Plc increased by 2.5 per cent to N307.66 per unit from N300.00 per unit.

Economy

Again, SEC Warns Capital Market Operators Against Sharp Practices

Published

4 hours ago

24/03/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has once again vowed that market operators engaging in unscrupulous activities would not be allowed to go unpunished.

The Director-General of SEC, Mr Emomotimi Agama, in a new notice to operators said there is no hiding place for violators in the country’s capital market.

This latest call joins recent calls by the regulator that it would mop up all illegalities in the Nigerian capital market in order to protect the country’s image and investors.

He described investors’ protection as a fundamental principle for the commission, noting that the Investments and Securities Act (ISA) 2007 clearly outlined the objectives of securities regulation in the country.

According to him, “it is important that as a form of self-regulation, they (operators) know beforehand that if you do what is not right, the SEC will bring you out to the wall to say that you do not have character.

“This is because the very ethics of regulating or of registering a securities market operator is in the principle of the fit and proper person’s test.

“A fit and proper person’s test means that you satisfy all of the requirements that have been laid down in the ISA 2007 and in other regulations that the SEC has brought out to make sure that this happens.

“So, clearly for us, it is getting people to understand that there is no hiding place anymore for anybody that has an intention to defraud Nigerians and to defraud anybody that is investing in this market.

“And so what you have been seeing most recently by the revocation of licences, by the suspension of operators, and our follow up to operators that are not registered with the SEC is only a tip of the iceberg as to what we intend to do this year.

“We believe strongly that a protected investor is a powerful investor and we will do everything within the powers of the SEC and the Nigerian law to make sure that we deter unscrupulous persons who are involved in trying to defraud Nigerian investors.”

The director-general said SEC was committed to ensuring that all market participants understood the Commission’s responsibilities.

He said compliance and information disclosure were important to capital market operation describing them as the fundamental objectives of securities regulation.

Mr Agama urged both existing and prospective market participants to work closely with the Commission to foster the development of the market.