Oscar Onyema Quits NGX Board

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

Mr Oscar Onyema has resigned from the board of directors of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited with immediate effect.

Mr Onyema, who is the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (GMD/CEO) of the NGX Group Plc, tendered his resignation letter ahead of the listing of NGX Group on the main board of NGX on Friday, October 15, 2021.

Before his resignation, he was on the board of the exchange as a non-executive director and to play on the exchange and not wield undue influence to the advantage of the NGX Group, he had to bow out of the bourse.

In a statement issued on Thursday night, the NGX stressed that consequent upon this resignation by Mr. Onyema, it will “uphold Rule 184(2)(a) of the Securities and Exchange Commission Consolidated Rules 2013 which states that A securities exchange shall have a code of conduct for its council members or board which shall be approved by the Commission, and shall contain amongst others the following provisions, to wit, that the council members or board shall: (a) not be a staff of a quoted company and its subsidiaries.”

Speaking on the development, the Chairman of NGX, Mr Abubakar Mahmoud, state that, “On behalf of the board and management of the exchange, I extend our heartfelt gratitude to Mr Onyema for his selfless service to the exchange.”

“As he transitions into this new phase as the GMD/CEO of a listed company, we reiterate our commitment to act in the best interest of all Issuers to the benefit of all stakeholders in the capital market,” Mr Mahmoud added.

On his part, the CEO of NGX, Mr Temi Popoola, noted that, “NGX owes its solid foundation to the effort of leaders like Mr Onyema who worked tirelessly to build a capital market infrastructure we can be proud of.

“During his time as a non-executive director on the board of NGX, he brought to bear his wealth of experience and the unique institutional knowledge he possesses and we are grateful for that.”

To commemorate the listing of NGX Group, Mr Popoola will host the Group Chairman of NGX Group, Mr Abimbola Ogunbajo, Mr Onyema, and other key stakeholders to a virtual closing gong ceremony today.