Equities sustain bullish trend on the Exchange

NSE appoints new council secretary; restructures its legal dept. for optimization
The nation’s equities market closed yesterday on a positive note, as Nigerian Stock Exchange [NSE] All Share Index [ASI] appreciated by 1.29 per cent to close at 30,219.01 basis points, compared with the 0.45 per cent appreciation recorded previously. Its Year-to-Date (YTD) returns currently stands at 12.81 per cent.

Market breadth however closed negative as Dangote Cement led 18 gainers against 20 losers topped by Transexpr at the end of yesterday’s session- an unimproved performance when compared with previous outlook.
Market turnover also closed negative as volume moved down by 70.77 per cent against 106.76 per cent uptick recorded in the previous session.

Zenith Bank, FBNH and Transcorp were the most active to boost market turnover. Nestle and Wapco topped market value list.
Volume shockers included Wapic which led the list of active stocks that recorded impressive volume spike at the end of yesterday’s session.

Meanwhile, the NSE has appointed Mrs. Mojisola Ruth Adeola as the council secretary and head of the council secretariat. Adeola’s appointment follows on The Exchange’s decision to drive greater efficiency and innovation by separating its Legal Department from the Council Secretariat.

Adeola, a lawyer and chartered secretary, has extensive company secretarial, legal and governance experience, having held prior relevant positions. Most recently, she served as Company Secretary/Legal Adviser to Acorn Petroleum Plc. She holds an LLB degree from the University of Lagos and qualified to practice as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in 2005.

Commenting on this development, Chief Executive Officer, Oscar Onyema, said “The Executive Management and Council note the significant contributions of Mrs. Irene Robinson-Ayanwale who combined the two roles reporting to Ms. Awe prior to the appointment of Mrs Adeola.

I must also thank Ms. Tinuade Awe, who assumed the role of Council Secretary at a challenging time for The Exchange during the Interim Administration and was instrumental in building the governance structure currently at The Exchange. It gives me great pleasure to welcome Mrs Adeola to The Exchange and I wish her every success in her new role,’’ he said.