Business
Investors Task SEC On Unclaimed Dividends
Some shareholders on Sat
urday urged the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to map out strategies to address the unclaimed dividends of N50.94 billion on the nation’s bourse as at December 2013.
The Tide source in Lagos that the unclaimed dividends of constituted a threat to investors’ confidence.
In his comment, Mr Boniface Okezie, the President, Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria (PSAN), said that SEC and market operators should work together to proffer solutions to the market-wide problem.
Okezie said that SEC should conduct enlightenment programmes to educate shareholders on the benefits of e-dividend and the need to notify their registrars on change of their addresses.
He said that shareholders’ failure to notify their registrars of change of their addresses was the major problem of unclaimed dividends in the country.
Okezie also called for road shows on e-dividend across the regions and for investors to open accounts with their banks for dividend payments.
Also, Mr Adebayo Adeleke, the Secretary, Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria, said that the figure was huge loss of income to retail investors.
Adeleke said that the unclaimed dividends figure was one of the reasons for retail investors’ apathy to the nation’s equity market.
He said that the stock of unclaimed dividends would continue to increase unless Section 383 of Comapanies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) was amended.
The Act states that dividends will not be claimed after 12 years.
Adeleke said CAMA should be amended to allow a modern, better and efficient capital market, adding that dividends should not have expiry date or period.
He said that registrars should be compelled to re-validate expired dividend warrants at the Annual General Meeting venues where shareholders congregate yearly.
According to him, banks should allow dividend warrants to be paid into both savings and current accounts.
He said that shareholders’ leaders should also encourage their members to embrace the e-dividend platform.
The Chairman, Institute of Capital Market Registrars (ICMR), Mr Bayo Olugbemi, had at a recent news conference, said that unclaimed dividends in the nation’s bourse had reached N50.94 billion.
Olugbemi said that the figure represented 5.05 per cent of the total dividends declared for the past 10 years.
He said that the current level of unclaimed dividends was a significant improvement compared with previous years.
About N50.94 billion was recorded as unclaimed dividends in 2013 as against N60 billion recorded in 2012.
Edun made the call while speaking at the 2025 Fellowship Investiture of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) in Lagos, where he reaffirmed the federal government’s commitment to sustaining ongoing reforms and expanding access to finance as key drivers of economic growth beyond four per cent.
“We all know that monetary policy under Cardoso has stabilised the financial system in a most commendable way. Of course, it is a team effort, and those eye-watering interest rates have to be paid by the fiscal side. But the fight against inflation is one we all have to participate in,” he said.
The minister stressed the need for banks to broaden credit access and finance innovation-driven enterprises that can create jobs for young Nigerians.
“The finance and banking industry has more work to do because we must finance their ideas, deepen the capital and credit markets down to SMEs. They should not have to go to Silicon Valley,” he said.
The minister who described the private sector as the engine of growth, said the government’s reform agenda aims to create an enabling environment where businesses can thrive, access funding, and contribute meaningfully to job creation.
The facility, known as the Nigeria Actions for Investment and Jobs Acceleration (P512892), is a Development Policy Financing (DPF) operation scheduled for World Bank Board consideration on December 16, 2025.
According to the Bank’s concept note , the financing would comprise $500m in International Development Association (IDA) credit and $500m in International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) loan.
If approved, it would be the second-largest single loan Nigeria has received from the World Bank under President Bola Tinubu’s administration, following the $1.5 billion facility granted in June 2024 under the Reforms for Economic Stabilisation to Enable Transformation (RESET) initiative.
The World Bank said the new programme aims to support Nigeria’s shift from short-term macroeconomic stabilisation to sustainable, private sector–led growth.
“The proposed Development Policy Financing (DPF) supports Nigeria’s pivot from stabilization to inclusive growth and job creation. Structured as a two-tranche standalone operation of US$1.0 billion (US$500 million IDA credit and US$500 million IBRD loan), it seeks to catalyse private sector–led investment by expanding access to credit, deepening capital markets and digital services, easing inflationary pressures, and promoting export diversification,” the document read.
The document further stated that Nigeria’s private sector credit-to-GDP ratio stood at only 21.3 per cent in 2024, significantly below that of emerging-market peers, while capital markets remain shallow, with sovereign securities dominating the bond market.
To address these weaknesses, the DPF will support the implementation of the Investment and Securities Act 2025, operationalisation of credit-enhancement facilities, and introduction of a comprehensive Central Bank of Nigeria rulebook to strengthen risk-based regulation and consumer protection.
The operation also includes measures to deepen digital inclusion through the passage of the National Digital Economy and E-Governance Bill 2025, which will establish a legal framework for electronic transactions, authentication services, and digital records.
Beyond the financial and digital sectors, the programme targets reforms to lower production and living costs by tackling Nigeria’s restrictive trade regime. High tariffs and import bans have long driven up consumer prices and constrained competitiveness, particularly for manufacturers and farmers.
Under the proposed reforms, Nigeria would adopt AfCFTA tariff concessions, rationalise import restrictions, and simplify agricultural seed certification to increase the supply of high-quality varieties for maize, rice, and soybeans. The World Bank projects that these measures will help reduce food inflation, attract private investment, and enhance export potential.
The operation is part of a broader World Bank FY26 package that includes three complementary projects—Fostering Inclusive Finance for MSMEs (FINCLUDE), Building Resilient Digital Infrastructure for Growth (BRIDGE), and Nigeria Sustainable Agricultural Value-Chains for Growth (AGROW)—all focused on expanding access to finance, strengthening institutions, and mobilising private capital.