Peter Egwuatu
19 November 2008
Ogun State Governor, Otunba Daniel on Monday described Abeokuta trading floor as the crowning of efforts to shift the economy of Ogun State to a higher ground and to attract investors.
He expressed optimism that the Abeokuta branch of the Exchange which is temporarily situated within the confines of the Southwest Resource Centre, Oke-Mosan, would become the open sesame to many investments. He said his government through its investment arm, the Gateway Holdings Limited, has succeeded in pooling the investment portfolio and business ventures of the State for efficient and professional management.
This has made Ogun an active player in the Nigerian Capital Market. He said the choice of Abeokuta as the base of a branch of the Nigerian Stock Exchange was informed by the growing reputation of Ogun as an emerging market and one of the country's leading investment destinations of choice which has now engendered a robust capital market operations in the last four years.
Governor Daniel said with the establishment of the Exchange in Abeokuta the State has further deepened its favourable investment climate and was set on the irrevocable path of ,industrial and economic development which would further secured the future of its people.
To demonstrate its commitment to this, the Government has started the construction of a 12 floor headquarters of the Gateway Holdings Limited which will also house the permanent business office of the trading floor of the Abeokuta branch of the stock exchange. The Governor saluted Oba Otudeko and Okereke- Oniyinke for aligning with the vision of his government in the area of public private partnership and working with administration officials to turn into realty the dreams of hosting a trading floor of the Exchange.
The Abeokuta Branch is the 11th across the country, outside of the Lagos Head Office. Other offices are located in Abuja , Kaduna , Port Harcourt , Kano , Onitsha , Ibadan , Benin , Yola, Uyo and Ilorin .
The expanding branch network has enabled The Exchange to function as envisioned by the Federal Government as a national institution, located within the reach of the largest group of Nigerians.
The floor is coming to Abeokuta at a time the Nigeria Capital Market has become more resilient and active.
The turnover of the exchange, according to Otudeko has risen from N1.5 trillion in 2007 to N2.3 trillion. On her own part , Director General of the NSE, Professor Ndi Okereke-Onyiuke during the commissioning of the Exchange in Abeaokuta said, " Ogun State 's entrenched culture of enterprise and industry will contribute to the growth and progress of the Abeokuta branch of the trading floor of the NSE"
The DG said she was not surprised by the tenacity of Governor Gbenga Daniel, whom she described a visionary, to bring the Exchange to Abeokuta since all the people who make NSE thick are from Ogun State . She said Ogun has a lot of businesses which are already active participants in the capital market and this would contribute to the viability of the new floor.
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