LCFE inducts 102 Commodities Brokers

L-R: Past President, Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS), Deacon Henry Olayemi, Chairman, Lagos Commodities and Futures Exchange (LCFE), Chief Onyewenchukwu Ezeagu, Director, LCFE, Alhaji Rasheed Yussuff, Chairman, Association of Securities Dealing Houses of Nigeria (ASHON), Sam Onukwue, Past President, CIS, Mike Itegboje and Group Managing Director, GTI Group, Alhaji Abubakar Lawal during Induction of Commodities Brokers yesterday at LCFE, Trading Floor, Lagos

As part of the preparation for commencement of its full blown trading, Lagos Commodities and Futures Exchange (LCFE) has inducted 102 Commodities brokers .

The Exchange had inducted 50 senior Commodities Brokers earlier in March and concluded the induction with other 52 on Thursday. The induction’s co-ordinator and past President of Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS), Mr Mike Itegboje explained that commodities had become major sources of foreign exchange and the inductees should take advantage of the emerging opportunities to support the government in its quest to bridge the gap in forex scarcity.

The Director General, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr Lamido Yuguda, who was represented by the Commission’s Head of Operation, Lagos Zonal Office, Mr John Achile stated that all initiatives that would lead to economic transformation through the commodities ecosystem had always been supported by SEC.

In his welcome address, the Chairman, LCFE, Chief Onyewenchukwu Ezeagu who congratulated the inductees informed them that the Trading Rules of the Exchange which cut across Agriculture, Oil and Gas, Solid Minerals and Currency were approved by SEC. According to him, the Rules had been exposed to the Nigerian Capital Market and Commodities ecosystem.

The Chairman, Association of Securities Dealing Member Houses of Nigeria (ASHON), Mr Sam Onukwue said commodities trading had presented a new frontier that would challenge professionals to unleash their creative potentials to grow the market and create value for its stakeholders. Onukwue urged the federal government to ensure that only regulated exchanges engaged in commodities trading.

The Managing Director, LCFE, Mr Akin Akeredolu-Ale, who was represented by the Group Managing Director, GTI Group, Alhaji Abubakar Lawal, urged the inductees to comply with the Exchange’s rulers and regulations to build an efficient commodities market.

The Doyen of the day, Alhaji Rasheed Yussuff advised the inductees to live up to expectation in creating value for stakeholders and the entire ecosystem.

The former Deputy Director General, The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NGX), Alhaji Rasaki Oladejo had at the induction of senior Commodities Brokers put the relevance of commodities exchange in perspective:

“ Commodities Exchanges are highly efficient marketplace for buyers and sellers of commodities to meet, primarily to manage price risks, but also to improve the marketing of their products. The Lagos Commodities and Futures Exchange was established in recognition of the need to fully realise the potential of the country’s drive towards development of Non-Exports to tap the opportunities thereof and support the nation’s wealth creation. The commodities ecosystem has strong capacity to put Nigeria on the global revenue map.”, said Oladejo.