Corporate governance is key to economic growth, say industry players

Exceptional corporate governance was  key to the performance of awardees at the BusinessDay Top 25 CEOs Award, held at the weekend in Lagos.

The top 25 CEOs held their establishments  afloat in 2015 in the face of daunting odds, growing market capitalisation by over N300 billion, despite a drop by 17 percent in  the All Share Index on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in the same year. This was the major criterion in selecting the awardees on the night.

“The top 25 CEOs, amid a gloom, held their ground in their respective sectors and delivered enviable results for their shareholders, collectively accounting for a market capitalisation of N1.63 trillion. A laudable feat we are here to acknowledge,” Frank Aigbogun, publisher of BusinessDay said in his opening speech.

Third in its series, the award night was a night of glamour. A Samsung S7 smart phone and a business class return ticket to London were gifts presented to the awardees by Samsung and British Airways respectively.

The awardees at the event were Tomi Somefun, CEO, Unity Bank Plc; Jide Orimolade, CEO, Law Union & Rock Insurance Plc; Akin Akinfemiwa, Group CEO, Forte Oil Plc; George Papachristou, MD, Beta Glass co. Plc; Oluwatoyin Sanni, GMD, United Capital Plc; Akin Lawal, CEO NPF Microfinance Bank Plc; Felix Nwabuko, CEO, Presco Plc and Yaw Nsarkoh, MD, Unilever Plc.

Others include Peter Hoddinott, Area Manager, Nigeria & West Africa, Lafarge Africa Plc; Graham Hefer, MD, Okomu Oil Palm Company Plc; Paul Farrer, GMD, National Salt Company of Nigeria Plc; Omolara Elemide; MD, Chemical and Allied Products Plc; Wole Oshin, GMD, Custodian and Allied Plc; Edwin Igbiti, CEO, AIICO Insurance Plc and Peter Folikwe, CEO, Berger Paints Nigeria Plc.

Also included were: Femi Oyetunji, CEO Continental Reinsurance Plc; Sunil Sawhney, CEO, 7up Bottling Company Plc; Sule Umar Bichi, MD/CEO, Red Star Express Plc; Adekunle Abibu, CEO, Pharma Deko Plc; Tope Smart, GMD, N.E.M. Insurance Plc; Segun Oloketuyi, CEO Wema Bank Plc; Alexis Vovk, MD, Total Nigeria Plc; Adetunji Oyebanji, Chairman, Mobil Oil Plc; Taiwo Adeniyi, GMD, Vitafoam Plc and Laurent Moussard, CEO, Airline Services & Logistics Plc.

The Keynote speaker, Oscar Onyema, DG of Nigeria Stock Exchange observed that “It is a proven fact that a company that is perceived as having good corporate governance will enjoy access to a variety of financing options and higher market valuations, compared those that are poorly governed.

“The Nigerian Stock Exchange, in partnership with Convention on Business Integrity, introduced the Corporate Governance Rating System (CGRS) in 2014. A CEO ready to be celebrated should ensure his/her company and principal stakeholders participate in the CGRS,” he said.

Timely release of quarterly financial results to the NSE was another criterion for selection, in a country where transparency is not the norm. BusinessDay publisher, Aigbogun, said “Not only did they grow their market capitalisation, they were transparent enough to release their quarterly financial results as stipulated by the NSE.”

Pascal Dozie, chairman of MTN Nigeria, who was also chairman of the event,  said, “It is my hope that other companies will emulate the awardees in submitting their quarterly reports to the NSE at the stipulated time. They also must learn to grow market capitalisation, which is key in a bid to ensure economic development does not elude us.”

Policy-makers should endeavour to interact with the private sector, said Nike Akande, President of  the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, even as she applauded the enviable feats of the resilient CEOs.

“To be considered worthy of a prestigious award at this time, calls for celebration and I wish them more prosperity in their businesses. I also wish to acknowledge the leading role BusinessDay has been playing in ensuring the creation of an enabling environment for investors. The LCCI is also the leader in policy advocacy. We are partners in progress,” Akande said.

Jumoke Oduwole, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Trade, Industry and Investment noted that mentoring the SME sector which has been proven to drive growth in other economies, was vital in achieving economic development.

“ For government, not only are we committed to supporting the private sector, we are interested in ensuring social inclusion,” Oduwole said.

The annual awards which were introduced in 2013, is organised with a view of recognising and rewarding the chief executive officers of companies listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), who in no small measure, contributed to the growth of the capital market in a particular financial year.

This year’s award was sponsored by Samsung, Sujimoto and British airways.

LOLADE AKINMURELE & FRANK ELEANYA