Governor Obaseki Urges Stockbrokers to Get Involved in Politics

The Executive Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki has urged stockbrokers to take the values of their profession to the political space in order to move the country forward.

Obaseki, who is a stockbroker, explained that every professional stockbroker operates on the premise of ‘my word is my bond’, noting that Nigerian politicians needed to embrace this element of integrity in order to ensure economic growth and development.

The governor spoke at the investiture ceremony of the President of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS), Mr. Adedapo Adekoje in Lagos on Thursday. According to him, his background in stockbroking over the years had contributed immensely to the efficiency of his administration.

“Those of us that have corporate background would find out that we are quite different from others as we have an obligation to deliver and under no circumstances must we fail to keep our promise,” he said.

Obaseki commended Adekoje on his new position and assured the Institute of support of his administration.

He also congratulated the entire stockbroking community on the milestones recorded over the years despite the challenges in the operating environment.

In his acceptance speech, Adekoje expressed gratitude to the stockbrokers for the confidence reposed in him and appealed for their co-operation in order to move the market forward.

Earlier in his farewell address, the immediate past President of CIS, Mr. Oluwaseyi Abe thanked the stockbrokers for their support during his administration.

Abe said that many achievements were recorded during his tenure, including the newly acquired corporate office at Ikoyi, Stand-Alone-Certification Programme for stockbrokers and sustained initiatives to attract the youths to stockbroking profession among others.

He attributed these to collective efforts of all stakeholders.

Meanwhile, the Acting Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Ms Mary Uduk, congratulated the new president and commended the leadership of the Institute and the immediate past president, saying that the institute has grown tremendously.

However, she charged stockbrokers to do more to take investor education to people at the grass root rather than concentrate activities on the people in urban areas.

In the same vein, the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Stock Exchange(NSE), Mr. Oscar Onyema congratulated Adekoje and pledged the exchange’s support for the Institute.

“We at the NSE are going to be firmly supportive of the administration and the Institute,” Onyema said.