Despite the slow economic growth, FMDQ’s markets (i.e.,
Fixed Income, Currencies, and Derivatives markets) have continued to show
resilience, and it is on this premise that FMDQ Group considers it pertinent to
recognise the contributions of its market participants, including its members,
regulators, government agencies, local and foreign portfolio investors,
corporates and a host of others, through the FMDQ GOLD Awards.
Instituted in 2018 to mark the 1st FMDQ Group Lustrum and
now in its 5th year, the 2022 FMDQ GOLD Awards was commemorated in a grand
ceremony, the first physical ceremony since the onset of the Coronavirus
pandemic, on Friday, November 11, 2022, in Lagos.
The very well-attended prestigious GOLD Awards was headlined
by the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Professor Yemi
Osinbajo, SAN, GCON, as the Special Guest of Honour, ably represented by Mr.
Alexander Okoh, Director-General, Bureau of Public Enterprises, brought
together various stakeholders in the FMDQ markets and provided a platform to
acknowledge and formally recognise the contributions of participants within the
FMDQ markets for the one-year period covering October 2021 to September 2022.
Delivering the Vice President’s Keynote Address at the
Awards Ceremony, Mr. Alexander Okoh said “over the years, FMDQ Group has
evolved from an over-the-counter market to a full-fledged Capital Market
Holding Company, with five wholly owned subsidiaries.
“This is a laudable achievement. It is pertinent to
acknowledge that in order for the Nigerian economy to grow and ensure that
businesses thrive, access to capital-raising channels and opportunities is a
key prerequisite. I want to thank and commend FMDQ Group and its leadership,
for the role you have played consistently in contributing towards filling this
gap in Nigeria’s financial markets”.
The 2022 GOLD Awards, duly verified by Ernst & Young,
Nigeria, a global assurance services firm, were presented across four (4) broad
Award Categories – Primary Market Awards, Secondary Market Awards, FMDQ
Members’ & Clients’ Choice Awards (which afforded the FMDQ Exchange Members
and Clients an opportunity to nominate and vote active participants across the
fixed income and currencies markets] and FMDQ Leadership Awards – saw
twenty-nine (29) Awards and thirty (30) Award winners (including two (2) joint
winners).
The Awards presentation commenced with the FMDQ Leadership
Awards Category which saw the Presidential Enabling Business Environment
Council, represented by its Executive Secretary, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, receive
the FMDQ Capital Market Catalyst Award for the introduction of over one hundred
and sixty (160) key reforms over a period to improve the nation’s business
environment, with the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020, being the most
impactful on the financial markets.
The 2022 FMDQ GOLD Award winners included MTN Nigeria
Communications PLC who bagged four (4) Awards in the Primary Market Category
and one (1) Award in the Members’ & Clients’ Choice Awards Category, as
well as Chapel Hill Denham Advisory Limited who won two (2) Awards in the
Primary Market Category, including the prestigious Primary Market Champion
Award (FMDQ Capital Markets Securities Origination).
Stanbic IBTC Bank PLC won two (2) Awards in the Secondary
Market Category, including the highly coveted Secondary Market Champion Award
(FMDQ Dealing Member of the Year). All validated results, including winners,
finalists, and the Awards descriptions, are available on FMDQ GOLD Awards
website – www.fmdqgroup.com/goldawards/.
One of the highlights of the GOLD Awards Ceremony was the
Farewell Reception in honour of the Retired Group Chairman of FMDQ Group, Dr.
Okwu Joseph Nnanna, as well as fourteen (14) other FMDQ Directors who retired
between January 2018 and September 2022, for the roles they played in the
growth and development of FMDQ and its markets.
Addressing the retired Group Chairman and Directors, the
Group Vice Chairman, FMDQ Group, Mr. Jibril Aku, said “Under your astute
leadership, FMDQ evolved from an OTC Market into Africa’s first vertically
integrated FMI group, with three (3) SEC-registered capital market subsidiaries
– FMDQ Securities Exchange Limited, FMDQ Clear Limited and FMDQ Depository
Limited – thereby entrenching its presence across the financial market value
chain (i.e., pre-trade, trade and post-trade). In this same period, two (2)
other subsidiaries, FMDQ Private Markets Limited and iQx Consult Limited, were
operationalised to extend the private companies’ access to institutional
investors, and to ensure operational efficiency and build resilience in the
FMDQ Entities through technology and digitisation, respectively.
“I thank you all for your resilience and guidance through
what has been a very challenging period for the markets, and the economy at
large. Your innovative and patient leadership laid the foundations of the FMDQ
Group we see today, and on which we build for the future”.
Dr. Nnanna, who served as the third Chairman of FMDQ Group
from April 2017 to May 2020, amongst many laudable accomplishments, oversaw the
growth of FMDQ from an organiser of the over-the-counter market to a
full-fledged Securities Exchange and then Africa’s first vertically integrated
FMI group.
During his Farewell Remarks, Dr. Nnanna, represented by
Prof. Joseph Nnanna, Chief Economist, Development Bank of Nigeria PLC, stated,
“serving as the Chairman of FMDQ for the three (3) succeeding years has been
greatly fulfilling. It has been an honour to play my part in thrusting the
Nigerian financial markets forward through FMDQ.
“I want to emphasise how much I appreciate the past Chairmen
and my colleagues on the FMDQ Group Board for their unrelenting support and
tenacity in delivering FMDQ’s mandate”.
In commemoration of Dr. Nnanna’s epoch-making tenure, a
special publication, the Agent of Change (Volume 3), FMDQ Group’s avenue for
cataloguing significant milestones achieved during the term of a Board
Chairman, was unveiled.
Another remarkable highlight of the GOLD Awards Ceremony was
a playlet, centered on the role of lawyers and investment bankers in the
financial markets, performed by representatives of the 2022 Summer Camp
(Primary School Stream) of the FMDQ Next Generation Financial Markets
Empowerment Programme (FMDQ-Next) – FMDQ Group’s flagship corporate responsibility
initiative aimed at promoting financial market awareness and literacy among
students across all levels.
Speaking at the FMDQ GOLD Awards, the Group Chairman, FMDQ
Group, Dr. Kingsley Obiora, represented by the Chief Executive Officer, FMDQ
Group, Mr. Bola Onadele. Koko, appreciated all stakeholders “who have worked
tirelessly to ensure continuous depth, liquidity, and diversity in the Nigerian
financial markets.
Undoubtedly, your contributions, immense support, and
unceasing willingness to collaborate, are a significant part of the FMDQ story.
The Board of FMDQ Group remains committed to providing strategic direction,
maintaining robust oversight over FMDQ Group’s affairs, and ensuring the Group
continues to tow the right path in meeting its objectives”.