- Group Silent On Replacement
FMDQ Group Plc, on Tuesday announced the imminent retirement of Bola Onadele. Koko, its pioneer Chief Executive Officer on December 31, 2024, after what it described as 11 years of exceptional achievements and outstanding strides.
The group in the statement explained that by December 31, “Koko would have served a term of five years as the Group Managing Director/CEO, after serving as the pioneer Managing Director/CEO of FMDQ Securities Exchange Plc (erstwhile FMDQ OTC Plc) for almost six and a half years.
Koko, the statement said, had on June 2024, notified the Board of Directors of FMDQ Group of his intention to retire as CEO at the end of his tenure, adding however, that in a bid to allow for a smooth transition to a suitable successor, and that “as part of the FMDQ Group Board’s governance approach to succession planning, Koko will carry on in his role as CEO of FMDQ Group until next year.”
Koko, the statement continued, successfully led and grew the FMDQ franchise as CEO since its inception in 2013 from when it commenced as an OTC platform for the inter-bank markets, the erstwhile FMDQ OTC PLC, to become Africa’s first vertically integrated financial market infrastructure group
Today, FMDQ Group Plc boasts of five wholly owned subsidiaries – three Securities and Exchange Commission-registered Exchange, Central Counter-party and Depository subsidiaries, a Private Markets Information Repository and a technology company – collectively referred to as “FMDQ”.
FMDQ Group also achieved associate company status with a 22.66% equity stake in Central Securities Clearing System Plc.
Koko’s tenureat FMDQ, the statement stressed, will also be remembered for outstanding achievements across the markets, franchise and financial parameters, amongst others.
These, it said, include the establishment of Africa’s first vertically integrated financial market infrastructure group, achievement of financial resilience with Shareholders’ Funds’ growth from ₦585.00m in 2013 to ₦70.28bn as of September 2024 (unaudited); activation of pre and post-trading transparency, straight-through-processing, central clearing, central counter-party and depository structures. There are also nthe launch of much-needed risk management products like the Cleared Naira-Settled Non-Deliverable Forwards and Exchange-Traded Derivatives.
“The Group, under Koko’s leadership, also spearheaded key sustainability initiatives, including the establishment of Africa’s premier Green Exchange, FMDQ Green Exchange and the Financial Center for Sustainability, Lagos, with the support of the United Nations Environment Programme and other stakeholders in the financial market ecosystem, making Lagos the 23rd member of the International Network of Financial Centres (FC4S Network) headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
Other significant achievements during his tenure include the rejuvenation of the Nigerian Commercial Paper market, with CP Programme registrations and issuances growing from zero to ₦6.90tr and ₦5.85tr respectively over the period, activation of the first-ever and continuous publication of comprehensive data & information in the Nigerian fixed income, derivatives and foreign exchange markets and the administration of credible and globally accepted benchmarks, the establishment of the FMDQ brand as the Nigerian Financial Markets Diplomat, and the launch of the hugely successful flagship corporate social responsibility programme for the promotion of financial markets literacy and development among primary, secondary and tertiary students, the FMDQ Next Generation Financial Markets Empowerment Programme.
“After over a decade of incredible dedication, resilience, passion and innovation, Koko’s visionary leadership has undoubtedly been instrumental in the successes and strides recorded by FMDQ and indeed, in the positive and significant evolution of the nation’s financial markets,” the group added.
In November 2023, FMDQ celebrate a decade of dedicated service to the Nigerian financial markets, during which it launched its agenda for the next decade tagged: “Born Local…Going Global”.
Ahead of the impending retirement, FMDQ said Koko will in the coming months put in place relevant building blocks to help realise the “Born Local…Going Global” agenda, which seeks to leverage FMDQ’s success achieved locally to scale global heights, championing Nigerian expertise, facilitating cross-border market opportunities, and contributing to sustainable global economic development, ensuring FMDQ’s lasting impact both within Nigeria and across the global financial markets; while also fostering a reinforced solid foundation as he sets himself to seamlessly pass on the baton to his successor.
