Nigeria Hits N170bn in Unclaimed Share Dividends

Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced that the total unclaimed dividend in the Nigerian capital market stood at N170 billion as of December 2020.

The Director-General, SEC, Mr Lamido Yuguda, disclosed this on Friday, August 13 at the second post-Capital Market Committee (CMC) virtual news conference.

Yuguda said the figure had increased when compared with N158.44 billion total unclaimed dividend as of December 2019 because of poor identity management and multiple subscriptions of investors.

“We have problems with identity management in the Nigerian capital market and this is really one of the things the commission is trying to resolve.

“We have set up a high powered committee to look at the issue, people bought shares under false names and multiple subscriptions.

“There is a problem with the process but there is a problem with us too as people because if you are buying securities using your own wealth; why will you use another persons name, why will you use a name that will not be traceable to you.

“This became an issue after the introduction of BVN because BVN is tied to only to one name,” Yuguda said.

He noted that SEC in June constituted a Committee on Identity Management for the Nigerian Capital Market in order to address the unclaimed dividend issue.

“The committee is chaired by Mr Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede and is expected to harmonise various databases of investors and facilitate data accuracy in the market.

“We are optimistic that the outcome of this committee’s assignment would address the challenges of identity management and help resolve some of the issues we face in the areas of unclaimed dividend, direct cash settlement and multiple subscriptions,” he added.