Tinubu, Gwarzo, Antwi, Osunkeye, Others for 20th PEARL Awards

All is set for the much awaited 2015 PEARL Awards Nite, which comes up on Sunday November 29, 2015 at the prestigious Eko Hotel & Suites Lagos, with the theme ‘The Spirit of Excellence and Resilience.’ According to the organizers, the annual PEARL Awards night has been a platform where quoted companies and key stakeholders in the capital market are rewarded for their contributions to the economy.

In a statement released by the Awards Board Secretary, Lekan Adekoya, the past Governor of Lagos State & National Leader of APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been confirmed to grace the epoch-making occasion as Distinguished Guest of Honour.

Top dignitaries in the economy that have already confirmed their attendance include Mr. Mounir Gwarzo, Director-General, Securities & Exchange Commission, Nigeria;  Mr. Adu Antwi, Director-General, Securities & Exchange Commission, Ghana and Chief (Dr) Olusegun Osunkeye, FCA, CON, OFR, former Chairman, Lafarge Africa Plc and Nestle Nigeria Plc, as Special Guests of Honour.

Other eminent personalities include Mr. Yemi Akeju, President, Institute of Directors (IOD), Dr (Mrs.) Ngozi Chianakwalam, Executive Chairman, Investments & Securities Tribunal (IST) and Mr. Laoye Jaiyeola, Director General/Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), as Guests of Honour, among a host of others.

The Awards event which was instituted in 1995 is endorsed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), as part of its capital market development initiative in Nigeria. Commenting on the event which culminates into the 20^th Anniversary of the Awards Nite, the President / Chief Executive Officer of Pearl Awards Nigeria, Tayo Orekoya noted that the Central Working Committee (CWC) has effectively initiated and deployed a massive mobilization of all relevant stakeholders in the Nigerian capital market as well as other sectors of corporate Nigeria, including the diplomatic community.

Orekoya stressed that this year’s Awards Nite promises to be much more glamorous than previous editions. “This landmark event is being packaged with special features and innovations to be a remarkable night of excellence and glamour, where captains of commerce and industries will savour the joy of excellence and operational performance of quoted companies and other market players in Nigeria”

Consequent upon requests by market players for broadening the scope of the Awards beyond listed companies, Orekoya disclosed that the 2015 PEARL Awards edition is coming with additional five new awards. He stated that the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) Plc an Over The Counter (OTC) market is endowing two of the five new Awards.

According to Orekoya these awards are “NASD Traded Securities of the Year Awards and NASD Participating Institution of the Year Award”. He added that in the light of the twin initiatives of broadening the Awards, the PEARL Awards would, effective this 20^th anniversary edition, be in 3 main categories, namely Main Competitive Awards Category, Special Recognition Awards Category and Honorary Awards Category”.

The PEARL Awards remains the only Awards event in this part of the world that identifies and rewards quoted companies based on empirical data. Which is predominately based on data sourced from audited financial reports companies, utilizing credible parameters and tools of data evaluation that meet international standards.