The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has stated that it is prepared to explore relevant policy initiatives that will promote activity and quicken capital market development.
The Director-General of the SEC, Lamido Yuguda, stated at the 2022 PEARL Awards Nite, held in Lagos over the weekend, that the commission is also committed to the growth of the commodities market ecosystem to support the Federal Government’s initiatives to improve the agriculture and solid minerals sectors.
Additionally, Dangote Cement Plc won the Sectoral Leadership Awards (SLA) for the Industrial Goods (Building Materials) subsector at the event. Yuguda asserts that the SEC is prepared to develop into a neutral enabler and promoter who offers the ecosystem for the development of exchanges and all other participants in the Nigerian capital market.
He gave stakeholders the reassurance that the commission will continue to work with them to create a level playing field where all quoted firms could prosper.
“As our mandate of market development and investors’ protection and with the firm support of the African Development Bank(ADB), the commission has commenced steps towards acquiring and deploying an integrated market support system in the form of a security surveillance software solution,” he said.
“Deployment of the security surveillance solution will improve market integrity, promote transparency on all trading platforms with the ultimate aim of eliminating market manipulation so that truly performing businesses can take their rightful place.”
Prior to this, Tayo Orekoya, President of the PEARL Awards Board of Governors, praised important market players for their exceptional results despite challenges.
He emphasized that fairness, transparency, and objectivity were the guiding principles in the selection process and added that winners were chosen on the basis of merit based on their performance in the market and overall contributions to economic growth.
Orekoya further guaranteed that the awards would uphold their legacy of honoring and honouring exceptional efforts based on factual data.
Aliko Dangote, the President/CEO of the Dangote Group, who was represented by Mansur Ahmed, Group Executive Director, Government & Strategic Relations, Dangote Group, expressed gratitude for the honor while also praising the Aaards’ organizers and urging all stakeholders to keep working toward market excellence.
He mentioned how resilient the Nigerian Stock Market is.
Dangote, who served as both the event’s chairman and recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award for National and Continental Economic Development, also received this honor. This was in recognition of his achievements to the nation and the continent.
Flour Mills of Nigeria earned an award in the Consumer Goods category (Food & Beverages), PRESCO Plc won an award in the Agriculture Sector, and NEM Insurance Plc won an award in the Financial Services area (insurance), among other winners.
