Goddy Egene
Chairman, Heirs Holdings, Mr. Tony Elumelu and the Chief Executive of Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Mr. Bismark Rewane have commended the President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote for his contributions to the growth of the Nigerian stock market.
They both gave the commendation at a two-day stakeholders’ forum on realising the full potential of the Nigerian economy through proactive capital market legislation in Abuja.
Elumelu, who is also the Chairman of United Bank for Africa Plc, said Dangote Cement, Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc, NASCON Allied Industries Plc and Dangote Flour Mills, all members of Dangote Group, have helped to deepen the market and the Nigerian economy.
Dangote Cement controls a third of the market capitalisation of the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE). Elumelu said
Elemule, who presented a keynote paper titled: “Deepening the capital market to include privatised and systematically important entities,” said the private sector has the most capital to drive the country’s economy, saying that only few state-owned privatized enterprises were so far listed on the stock market.
He said the government must focus on providing the enabling environment for businesses to thrive.
Speaking in the same vein, Rewane, said if the Dangote Cement were to be discounted from the Nigerian stock market, the market would have been in trouble.
Rewane, who presented a paper titled: The Nigerian Capital Market: ‘Becoming Africa’s Most Modern, Efficient and Internationally Competitive by 2025,’ noted that there was the need to ask questions about what went wrong despite all the economic measures put in place by successive governments.
In his paper titled: ‘Demutualising the NSE,” its chief executive, Mr. Oscar Onyema said the demutualisation of the exchange will be favourable to all stakeholders.
He said: “Demutualisation will support the economy in its ability to withstand domestic and international economic shocks, it will also support the Federal Government in driving Nigeria’s economy.”
