How SEC helped tackle incidence of unclaimed dividends–Shareholders

Shareholders in Ibadan Zone on Wednesday commended the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for initiating policies which had helped to reduce the huge number of unclaimed dividends in the area.

Mr Eric Akinduro, the Chairman, Ibadan Zone Shareholders Association, gave the commendation in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

” The Securities and Exchange Commission has given directives and they stood by them. We give kudos to them because their policies have reduced incidence of unclaimed dividends.

“It is difficult to quantify how much reduction has been achieved; but using Dangote flour for instance,  out of 100 percent of our members in the Southwest that follow up on their dividends as at today everyone of them that is aware and had taken steps have been settled.

“The process has been smooth and helpful recently, we pray that it continues and gets better in the coming year,” Akinduro said.

The chairman further commended SEC’s new policy that banker’s confirmation would not be needed again in claiming dividends.

He noted that this would help older people who have challenges with their signatures due to old age.

“When you have Bank Verification Number (BVN), Identity card with the data already collected by the registrar, they can merge all these together as an evidence to identify individuals for their claims and it will be paid.

“This is where SEC is going now and it is going to help the retail shareholders that do not have regular signatures,” he said.

Akinduro also commended the role of  registrars in claiming dividends for their members in the South West Zone.

He, however, urged them to open offices in the zone, particularly in Ibadan, for easy administrative procedures.

The chairman said the association was set to revitalise its state chapters so that information from the zone could easily get to the grassroots.

He enjoined the government to promote investment friendly policies in 2020 as was done with border closure as well as make positive pronouncements on the market.

Akinduro said that these would encourage investors and add value to the nation’s economy. (NAN)