N52 billion Unclaimed Dividends: Investor Apathy To Blame – Operators

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has pegged the figure of N52 billion as the value of total unclaimed dividends in the country.

Whilst some market participants were quick to blame registrars for complicity in the matter, the Institute of Capital Market Registrars (ICMR) has rebuffed the claims.

Registrar/Chief Executive of ICMR, Dr Walker Ogogo, says that shareholders unwillingness to embrace e-payment channels was to blame.

According to him most shareholders are old fashioned and unwilling to embrace the e-payment/e-dividend system.

He said, “They bluntly refuse to complete their e-dividend formalities presented to them, leading to a compounding of the problem.”

He posits that the issues surrounding unclaimed dividends began in the 1970s under the Gowon administration. “During this exercise, those in positions of authority, who had the wherewithal, acquired shares in the privatised companies with fictitious names of their drivers, cooks, gardeners, dead brothers, dead fathers, etc, in such a way that when the dividends came, they were not able to claim them because there were no such persons to claim the dividends .”

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One Comment

1. 

   walerich

   December 26, 2012 at 2:41 pm

   The commission should also ease up on the issue of irregular signature. I was once there but was frustrated with irregular signature “palava” even when my picture, names and other personal data are intact.