The Senate says it will tackle all issues of unclaimed dividends in the capital market with the collaboration of stakeholders.
Chairman, Senate Committee on Capital Market, Sen. Osita Izunaso said this at a public hearing on “Unclaimed Dividend Fund” held in Abuja on Monday.
In his remarks, Izunaso who noted that investors had lost confidence in the market, said that the Senate would ensure that that confidence was rebuilt.
“The capital market is something that involves trust. Once that trust is eroded, people will not want to invest again.
“And you know that the crash of the capital market since 2018 till today, a lot of people still don’t have confidence in the capital market.
“So it is our responsibility, it is our collective responsibility to make sure that this confidence is built back.
“Whether you are a stakeholder, whether you are in the parliament, whether you are a shareholder, whoever you are, make sure that this confidence returns.
“Look at what the registrar said, that the declared dividend alone for five years is five trillion. So which means it’s an average of one trillion a year.
“So you can say that it is N1 trillion annually. So if dividend alone can be N1 trillion, then the stock market is not doing badly.”
He also said that if the market was promoted further, Nigeria would make more money.
Izunaso further said that the issue of unclaimed dividends persisted due to several factors.
These factors he said included challenges in identity management within the capital market and multiple subscriptions during the era of paper dividend warrants.
He said that the longstanding issues had compounded the problem of unclaimed dividends.
“However, substantial efforts are underway to address these challenges through the adoption of electronic dividend payments.”
Declaring the hearing open, President of the Senate Godswill Akpabio said that unclaimed dividends struck at the very heart of Nigeria’s financial markets and the economic landscape.
He said that it was a call to action, a call to reclaim what was rightfully ours and a call to forge a stronger and more prosperous future for Nigeria.
“Unclaimed dividends represent not just a financial loss, but a loss of trust in our capital market. We cannot afford to let this continue.
“We must rise to the challenge, confront the complexitiesand find bold solutions that will restore faith in our financial systems and empower our investors.”
In his submission, Director-General Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Dr Emomotimi Agama said that the reason for unclaimed dividend in the market included the use of multiple identities, lack of inadequate information.
Others, he said included buying of shares under fictitious names and Loss of dividend warrant.
‘We will do everything within our power and the law to make sure that investors enjoyed the benefits of their investments and ensuring they had access to their unclaimed dividends.”
