BY MOSHOOD ISAMOTU (Contributing Editor)
As financial professionals intensify the pursuit of investment returns, industry leaders have urged them to put ethics and sustainability at the heart of their decisions, warning that the future of Nigeria’s financial market depends on how responsibly today’s deals are structured and executed.
Financial market professionals across Nigeria have called for greater commitment to ethical conduct, sustainable business practices and physical well-being as critical pillars for building a resilient financial market that delivers value to all participants.
The call was made at the Financial Markets Integrity Group’s annual walk, which took place simultaneously in Lagos and Abuja, attracting about 500 registered participants from the seven professional bodies that make up the Group, with the total number of participants and invited guests across the two centres estimated at close to 600.
The event brought together senior professionals, regulators and stakeholders in the financial services industry, with the walk providing a platform to promote both professional integrity and healthy lifestyles.
In Abuja, the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Dr. Emomotimi Agama, participated in the walk, underscoring the importance of physical fitness and wellness in sustaining the demanding responsibilities of financial-market professionals.
Agama said physical exercise was foundational to maintaining the high levels of focus, resilience and mental acuity required in demanding professional environments.
According to him, regular physical activity not only supports long-term cardiovascular and metabolic health but also provides a vital cognitive reset that can enhance problem-solving and help professionals manage the pressures associated with regulatory and corporate leadership.
He said his participation was driven by a personal commitment to lead by example and promote holistic wellness within the professional community.
“ Health is not a secondary pursuit, but a core pillar of professional excellence,” Agama said, expressing the hope that the event would encourage professionals to incorporate physical activity into their daily routines.
In Lagos, the walk attracted prominent industry figures, including the Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), Jude Chiemeka; Chairman, Association of Securities Dealing Houses of Nigeria (ASHON), Sehinde Adenagbe; President, Institute of Capital Market Registrars (ICMR), Catherine Nwosu, Chief Executive Officer, Pension Fund Operators of Nigeria (PenOp), Anthonia Ifeanyi-Otoro, 1st Vice Chairman, ASHON, Ifeyinwa Ejezie; and 1st Vice President, Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS), Dr. Akeem Oyewale, among others.
Speaking on the significance of the initiative, Executive Director, CFA Society Nigeria, Adeyemi Ajagun, said the annual walk was designed to promote sustainable business practices among operating firms and stakeholder institutions, while strengthening a culture of ethical excellence among financial-market professionals.
He said the broader objective was to ensure that the financial market remained responsive to the interests of all participants, including consumers.
Ajagun noted that about 500 participants registered for this year’s event across the seven professional bodies that constitute the Financial Markets Integrity Group, adding that the number could rise to nearly 600 when invited guests were taken into account.
He said the annual event also adopts a theme addressing issues considered critical to the integrity and sustainability of the financial markets.
According to him, this year’s theme focused on climate risk and its implications for financial outcomes, drawing attention to the need for professionals to consider environmental and social factors when structuring deals and executing financial transactions.
Ajagun said professionals must pursue “alpha” and investment returns in ways that are ethical and sustainable.
“Our decisions today should ensure that, two or three decades from now, the financial market continues to grow, remains resilient and delivers positive impact to people, businesses and the environment,” he said.
The simultaneous Lagos-Abuja walk therefore combined the financial industry’s emphasis on integrity and sustainability with a broader message on professional wellness, reinforcing the view that a resilient market depends not only on sound institutions and ethical practices but also on the quality and well-being of the professionals who operate it.
Jude Ossai (JP) a veteran journalist is a National Diploma holder in Mass Communication from Ogwashi-Uku Polytechnic Ogwashi-Uku, Delta State. He also studied at Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT) Enugu and Imo State University, Owerri for his first and second degrees in Mass Communication, respectively.
He writes extensively on politics, crime, corruption, climate change, healthcare, human rights, social justice, among others.
He began his journalism career in The Republic Newspaper, Lagos in 1987 as a Special Correspondent in Benin City, Edo State.
In 1990, he was posted from Lagos to old Anambra State as a State Correspondent in Enugu.
In 1994, he joined the African Newspapers of Nigeria (ANN) Plc, Ibadan, Oyo State, Publisher of Nigerian Tribune Newspapers where he rose to the rank of Southeast Bureau Chief.
Retiring from the mainstream traditional media in 2019, he began another journey in online newspaper publication.
He was the Overall Best Reporter in 2015, an award bestowed on him by Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Enugu State.
He has attended several workshops/seminars organised by multi-nationals, government institutions, local and international media including BBC.
He is also a unionist and had held top positions as Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Union of Journalists of Enugu Correspondents’ Chapel and State Council of NUJ, respectively. He was also a one-time Enugu State Secretary of Sports Writers’ Association of Nigeria (SWAN).
