Reps Question Capital Market Operators Over Unclaimed Dividends

House of Representatives Committee on Capital Markets and Institutions Queries Capital Market Operators Over Shareholders’ Unclaimed Dividends

The committee said that it was necessary to ensure a healthy business environment in Nigeria where investors would be safe and could conduct their businesses with peace of mind.

Rep. Solomon Bob, the Chairman of the committee, said this in Abuja on Wednesday when the capital market operators appeared before the committee to answer questions concerning unclaimed dividends.

He asked the operators why Nigeria was bedevilled with so many unclaimed dividends, while also asking them what they had done in their respective capacities to stem the tide.

“Why do we have such huge amounts of unclaimed dividends, and what are the chairmen doing in their respective positions to ensure that such unclaimed dividends become history?

He said, “How well are you complying with the law? We need to know the extent to which you have gone to ensure compliance in the payment of unclaimed dividends.

“We want to ensure a healthy business environment in Nigeria where investors are safe and can conduct their business with peace of mind.”

Mr Bayo Olugbemi, the Managing Director, First Registrar and Investor Services Ltd., said the history of unclaimed divides was a long one, adding that there was a time when they had as much as 40 per cent unclaimed dividends.

He, however, said that as of today, unclaimed dividends were less than five per cent, adding that the figure was still huge.

Olugbemi, who is also the immediate past president of the Institute of Capital Market Registrar, said that in the past five years, the market has put in place a lot of initiatives that have reduced the quantum of unclaimed dividends.