Photo caption: From left, Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX Group) Plc, Oscar Onyema; Group Chairman, Otunba Abimbola Ogunbanjo; and Group Company Secretary and Head, Compliance, Mrs. Mojisola Adeola at the 60th Annual General Meeting of NGX Group held on Thursday, September 9, 2021, in Abuja.
The Nigerian Exchange Group Plc (NGX Group), on Thursday, September 9, 2021, held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) to consider its operations for the year ended December 31, 2020, the first since transforming from a member-owned The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), to a demutualised, shareholder-owned, for-profit entity, voting in support of the resolutions presented by the board.
In a review of performance for the period, the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive, of the exchange, Oscar Onyema, recorded N6.02bn turnover and 1.84bn profit after tax in the period.
The meeting approved the re-election of the Non-Executive Directors who were retiring by rotation and the election of the Audit Committee members, in addition to approving the proposed remuneration for the Board and non-executive members of the erstwhile National Council of the NSE.
Shareholders approved the Group’s proposals to introduce equity-based incentives to employees’ remuneration, including an Employee Share Ownership Plan and a Long-Term Incentive Plan, aligning the interests of internal stakeholders with those of shareholders in long-term value creation.
Addressing shareholders at the meeting, the Group Chairman, NGX Group Plc, Otunba Abimbola Ogunbanjo described the meeting as “historic in that it marks the first time in the history of the NGX Group that its AGM will hold outside the hallowed confines of the Exchange House in Lagos and we have chosen the Federal Capital Territory – Abuja – in recognition of the integral role the Federal Government of Nigeria played in actualising the demutualisation of NSE and its support in establishing NGX Group.”
Acknowledging the invaluable support of stakeholders, he express pride at “the resilience NGX Group continues to demonstrate after over six decades. Despite the global pandemic and other economic shocks, it is indeed noteworthy that we have already begun to actualise the benefits of demutualisation including the alignment of stakeholders’ interests in the value created by the new Group under a revised Corporate Governance framework.”
Speaking on outcomes of the AGM, Ogunbanjo further stated, “We received approval of new equity-based incentive schemes for employees which are in line with the authority granted to Directors by then Members of NSE at an Extraordinary General Meeting conducted in March 2020 and adhere to global best practices allowing us to attract and retain the best talent. Today, I am more confident than ever that the Group is well-positioned to deliver value to shareholders as we move into a new growth phase.”
“In the context of COVID-19 pandemic, we maintained tight cost controls, which reduced expenses by 13% despite investments in technology that allowed us to operate remotely with zero downtime. The Group ended the Year 2020 in a sound financial position with net asset growth of over 10% to N31.28bn,” he added.
