The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Nigeria has warned Nigerians to be wary of fraudsters who pose as network/capital market managers and on-line financial experts.
Acting Director-General of SEC, Ms. Mary Uduk handed down the warning in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital during a town hall meeting tagged “Current Initiatives by the Securities and Exchange Commission Nigeria”, to enhance investors value.
Uduk advised Nigerians to invest in legitimate businesses and make genuine money, and shun swindlers with sugar-coated tongues and intentions of money doubling and making them richer.
The SEC boss said: “The purpose is also to ensure that you do not fall victim to the antics of fraudsters who purport to be able to double any amount of money you make available to them as investment value.
“These fraudsters or promoters of Ponzi schemes are the false prophets of the investment environment, they are the ill-wind that blows no good, and at whose sight you must flee; they are to be avoided.
“This is one message you must take home to your family, friends, relations and acquaintances in order to save them from the agony of loss of their hard–earned monies.”
Uduk explained that the commission has commenced a process to move all shareholders to an E-Dividend regime, which according to her, would help reduce issues of unclaimed dividends.
“SEC is currently leading the entire capital market industry in an effort to migrate all shareholders to an E–Dividend regime.
“The essence of the E-Dividend Mandate Management System is to eradicate or reduce to the barest minimum the incidence of unclaimed dividend.
“Unclaimed dividend is an undesirable feature of the Nigerian capital market which denies investors/shareholders the gains of participating in the capital market.
“It denies the economy access to the huge amount of money which should have accrued to shareholders and would have gone into circulation to oil the wheel of the economy.
“It is a consequence of the bottlenecks which are inherent in the erstwhile paper dividend warrant regime such as postal system inefficiency, change in investors’ addresses, poor fidelity and human fallibility in dividend payment processes, amongst others.
“The E–Dividend regime bypasses these limitations by ensuring that dividends which do not exceed 12 years of issue are credited directly to an investors account after declaration by the paying company and within a stipulated payment period through simple interbank transfer.
“The E-Dividend registration exercise started on November 23, 2016. Each successful registration cost N150, however, between that time and March 31, 2018, the Commission underwrote the registration cost for all investors that mandated.
“It is my pleasure to let us know that a total of 2.4million accounts had been mandated. May I therefore implore you all to key into the E-Dividend registration exercise by visiting the nearest bank branch to register.
“In addition to migrating to the E–Dividend regime yourselves, kindly tell everybody you know to do same in their best interest. I am informed that some registrars are present at this forum. I implore us to visit them and take advantage of the services they are providing to register for your E-Dividend, here and now,” Uduk advised.