Nigerian investors missing out on N215bn dividends, says SEC

Business a.m.

Unclaimed dividends in Nigeria’s financial market have risen to N215 billion as of March 2024, indicating a significant rise in unclaimed payments, as revealed by the  Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 

Emomotimi Agama, the newly appointed director general of SEC made the disclosure during the second 2024 Capital Market Committee (CMC) meeting held in Lagos, recently.

Agama, who took office in May after his appointment as the DG, however described the information as the start of a new era for the SEC, which aims to address the issue of unclaimed dividends and promote local government participation in the capital market.

According to the SEC DG, the commission is making moves to promote the issuance of municipal bonds by local governments as a strategy to attract local councils to participate in the capital market. This effort, he explained, is aimed at encouraging local governments to raise funds through bonds and diversify their sources of revenue, potentially creating new economic opportunities.

Addressing capital market press stakeholders, Agama stated that the SEC has implemented measures aimed at mitigating the rapidly increasing number of unclaimed dividends in Nigeria’s financial market.

“So, as of March, it’s N215bn. What we desire to do is to make sure we bring that down. We are putting up mechanisms to ensure that happens. What we have done in order to enhance the process is that we now have a new portal that allows what we call self-service,” he said.

Agama also stressed his leadership’s commitment to list more companies on the Nigerian capital market. This initiative, according to him, will broaden the investment opportunities available to investors and help to promote the growth of the Nigerian economy.

In addition, Agama disclosed that the SEC will be encouraging the issuance of municipal bonds by local governments, in preparation for the local government autonomy.

“We want to encourage municipal bonds, so that the local government will understand the use of the capital market in the development of the local government.

“We are creating a desk at the SEC to deal with that specifically. Now that they are going to have direct funding, the only way to progress those developments is via the capital market, issuance of securities to be able to develop the local governments,” Agama said.