CIS, NGX recommit to partnership as full physical trading returns

The Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers has said that it will continue to work with the board and management of Nigerian Exchange Limited to build a world-class securities market in Nigeria.

CIS President, Oluwole Adeosun, said this during the closing-gong ceremony to celebrate the CIS and the commemoration of the return to full physical trading at the exchange in Lagos.

“I’m pleased to affirm that the CIS and NGX in a working relationship all these years have continued to wax stronger and will continue to improve because we will support the exchange with the members on the trading floor of NGX. We reiterate that we will continue to work with the exchange as partners and support in its effort to build a world-class securities market in Nigeria”, Adeosun said.

Adeosun commended the NGX for the resilience and creativity shown during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 to ensure that the bourse kept on operating, adding that the exchange did not allow the pandemic to dominate trading as investors made gains during the period.

The CIS President thereafter said the institute will work hand in hand with NGX to restore the position of fixed-income trading platforms and urged the NGX board to maintain its zero policy on market manipulations.

In his opening remark, the chairman of the board of directors, NGX, Abubakar Mahmoud, said the NGX and the CIS have in 30 years, enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship through strategic partnerships and landmark initiatives, which has contributed to deepening and repositioning the capital market for efficient service delivery to the public and its valued stakeholders.

Mahmoud, who was represented by a non-executive director on the NGX board, Yomi Adeyemi, said, “The capital market, especially the NGX has no doubt benefitted immensely from the quality of professionals that have come through the ranks of the institute.

“It is our strong hope that we can continue to count on the institute to sustain this unimpeachable record of producing exceptional professionals, who have the highest sense of duty and devotion to the development of the capital market ecosystem.

“There is no doubt that at the outset of COVID-19, NGX had to rely on the cooperation of key stakeholders, including CIS, to respond effectively to the change and uncertainty.

“We are indeed delighted to note that NGX successfully transited to remote trading with no downtime recorded throughout the entire period. This is a landmark achievement that would have been impossible without the cooperation of the institute and the unrelenting support of its members.

“We are confident that the return to full physical trading will be beneficial to the capital market, and lead to improved outcomes that will renew investor confidence and catalyse the market for greater contribution to the economy.”

The NGX Group chairman, Alhaji Umar Kwairanga, applauded the institute for raising the standards of skills and qualifications as well as enhancing trust in the financial services sector over the past 30 years.

In his comments, the Chief Executive Officer of NGX, Temi Popoola, stated that the CIS are the gatekeepers of the market, saying, “We really do hope that the stockbrokers come back to the floor. We know that people are used to remote trading but we would like that atmosphere of trading to come back to the floor and this is what we are trying to catalyse.”