I am delighted to participate in the 2026 edition of the Pearl Awards Corporate Summit.
The 2026 Corporate Summit is another opportunity for the Pearl Awards Nigeria to elevate conversations about corporate systems, practice and governance through high level discussions on pertinent topical issues.
The Nigerian Exchange Group is very happy to partner with the Pearl Awards because it recognises the value that Pearl Awards Nigeria adds to our quoted companies and by extension our Group’s business.
The Annual Pearl Awards encourages listed companies to strive for excellence in order to be considered for the Awards. Fora such as this interrogate various aspects of policy and practice and proffer practical and workable suggestions to improve our corporations and the Nigerian economy.
This year, the topic for the Corporate Summit is Policy Reform and Corporate Competitiveness: Navigating Towards a Sustainable Edge. This is an apt theme and recognises that Nigeria’s economic growth relies more on the innovation, hardwork and of the private sector. To achieve and sustain the transformational growth that our country needs, governments at all levels must craft policies that encourage and sustain the competitiveness of the private sector.
As an Exchange, there are a number of policies and policy reforms that we have been advocating for that we believe will enhance the attractiveness of our capital markets and boost the competitiveness of our private sector and the Nigerian economy and I will quickly mention a couple. First, we think that there should be specific fiscal incentives for listing on a recognised exchange.
The Nigerian Exchange, for example, holds its listed companies to the highest standards of governance and disclosure. This is primarily for investor protection but it also ensures that listed companies fulfil their obligations to all stakeholders, including government, in a timely and efficient manner. Annually, our companies collectively pay trillions in taxes to the public coffers and disclose details fully in publicly available annual reports.
This makes the work of our tax authorities easier and should be rewarded with incentives such as a lower corporate tax rate for quoted companies. A review of the Nigeria First policy to ensure strict enforcement would also help to sharpen corporate competitiveness.
There should be no excuse for public agencies going outside to procure goods and services that can be produced in Nigeria. Any flouting of such a policy should be punished if we are to grow our economy sustainably.
There are many other policy reforms and enforcement that will help make our corporate organisations stronger and more resilient and I am happy to see that we have distinguished economist, Mr. Bismark Rewane as the keynote speaker.
The high-level panel with personalities such as my brothers, Femi Awoyemi and Bola Ajomale, my Past President, Ropo Dada, my CEO, Jude Chiemeka and my life sister, Mrs, Catherine Nwosu, will no doubt dissect all the issues in depth and come up with viable suggestions that we will take up with policy makers in the legislative and executive branches.
I congratulate Tayo Orekoya and his team for successfully organising and hosting the 2026 Pearl Awards Corporate Summit and hope that all present have an enjoyable and enlightening session.
Thank you.
Alhaji (Dr) Umaru Kwairanga
Chairman NGX Group
