The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has recently announced that it will be intensifying its efforts to reduce the level of unclaimed dividends in Nigeria’s capital market. The commission’s statement, released in Abuja on Thursday, explained that this effort includes a series of interactions with investors across various geo-political zones, aimed at making the market more attractive to new investors.
The interactions will focus on proffering solutions to investors with unclaimed dividends and related issues and will be aimed at creating awareness and enlightenment on e-dividend, dematerialization of shares certificates, and direct cash settlement payment systems, amongst others. The initiative is part of a larger strategy to reduce the level of unclaimed dividends which stood at N190 billion in August 2023.
The commission’s core mandate is to regulate and develop the capital market of Nigeria to be at par with its counterparts in other jurisdictions in all ramifications, and it is committed to achieving and sustaining this mission. The interactions with stakeholders and investors will be aimed at creating awareness, particularly in the regions, and encouraging the investing public to come forward and claim what rightfully belongs to them.
This is one of the key objectives of the Capital Market Development Master Plan 2015 to 2025, and the commission plans to embark on a series of investor clinics in 2024 in all regions of the federation to provide the necessary platforms for investors to reap the benefits of investing in the capital market.
