The Board of Governors and secretariat of the Pearl Awards Nigeria have called on the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Nigerian Stock Exchange to do more towards investor education to rebuild confidence in the market.

The President and Chief Executive, Pearl Awards, Mr. Tayo Orekoya, said at a press briefing on Friday that the Pearl Awards would continue to support efforts geared towards repositioning the capital market for sustainable growth and development.

He said, “The stock market is no doubt slowly but steadily recovering from the doldrums of previous years and has the potential to once again be the toast of investors locally and globally. In order to create the necessary atmosphere for the growth and development of the capital market, active investor sensitisation and education is essential.

“In the light of this, we believe the SEC and NSE need to do more towards investor education to rebuild confidence in the market. The PEARL Awards Nigeria remains committed to partnering with the regulatory authorities and other stakeholders towards achieving sustainability, growth and deepening of the market. We also advocate that a strong collaboration between the market players and the media is highly essential towards ensuring that we make capital market more meaningful and relevant to Nigerians at home and in the diaspora.”

On the awards nite, Orekoya said the PEARL Awards was committed to rewarding outstanding quoted companies based on actual performance as reflected in their audited annual reports and other relevant documents from the stock exchange.

He added, “I am pleased to formally announce that arrangements are in top gear to host the 2012 awards nite.

This year’s awards marks 17th edition and as usual promises to be a night of glamour, funfair and celebration of excellence. Among other side attractions, the event would feature exclusive red carpet reception, high class executive networking opportunities, memorable entertainment classics that would linger on for a long time in the minds of our esteemed guests.”

Orekoya noted that the awards would be in three main competitive categories namely- the sectoral leadership awards, the market excellence awards and overall highest award category.

Source: Punch (written by Ademola Alawiye)