REPS, 5A,5,5S, L-R, Executive Commissioner Corporate Services
Securities and Exchange Commission Mr Ibrahim Boyi, Executive
Commissioner Operations SEC Mr Dayo Obisan and Director General SEC Mr
Lamido Yuguda during a Public Hearing to Investigate the Rising
Value of Unclaimed Dividends, Unremitted Withholding Tax on Dividends
and their Attendant Effects on Nation’s Economy at the National
Assembly

 Last weekend’s revelation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that the country’s unclaimed dividend has now risen to N170 billion has sparked off concerns among shareholders in the Nigerian Capital Market (NCM) that thefunds may be appropriated by Nigeria’s financially challenged Federal Government. This is even as they urged the Commission to quickly innovate new strategies to reduce the figure. The shareholders renewed call on SEC is coming after its efforts to tackle the rising unclaimed dividend trend in the nation’s capital market failed to hit the right cord as the Commission on Friday, announced that the figure had risen to N170 billion as at December 2020 from N158.4 billion recorded in 2019. Daily Sun investigations showed that from as little as over N2 billion in 1999, the figure rose sharply to N158.4 billion at the end of 2019, an increase of 32 per cent from N120 billion recorded in 2018. Speaking during a virtual Capital Market Committee Meeting held in Lagos at the weekend, Director General of the SEC, Lamido Yuguda, linked the rising figure to irregularities on identity management and multiple subscriptions from investors. Yuguda expressed dissatisfaction on the development, assuring that the SEC would adopt all-inclusive approaches to stem the tide and boost investor’ confidence.

Sun