By Ginika Okoye

Shareholders have appealed to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), registrars and stockbrokers to make the claiming processes of unclaimed dividends easy, seamless and less cumbersome.

Some of the shareholders who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Sunday said that making the process easy would help reduce unclaimed dividends.

The shareholders, who were reacting to the continuous rise in unclaimed dividend figures of banks and other companies, said the process of claiming dividends were currently tedious and frustrating.

Mrs Bisi Bakare, the National Coordinator, Pragmatic Shareholders Association, said the administrative cost, delays and bottlenecks encountered by probate were discouraging in dividends claim.

Bakare listed some factors that had led to the rise in unclaimed dividends to include fictitious names in buying shares during privatisation, relocation, death and minority shareholders neglect due to the small amount of the dividend, among others.

“Many shareholders purchased multiple shares that they cannot remember the names used and many of them have also relocated before the introduction of e-dividend, hence, no update on account to pay their dividend into.

“Many shareholders are late now, and there is no proper estate planning, no will, no update on their records to transfer the shares.

“In fact, many shareholders, their wives, husbands or children are not aware of their investment in the share.

“How do you want them to claim what they are not aware of.

“Also, the issue of probate; its administrative cost, delays and bottleneck, the role of registrar and sometimes intentional frustration encountered by shareholders in claiming their money contribute to reasons why unclaimed dividends are growing,’’ she said.

She said the association was encouraging their members through improved communication to key into the electronic dividend registration, to regularly update their account with registrars to reduce unclaimed dividends.

She said that the association also had a platform to disseminate information to members on companies that declare dividends.

Mr Moses Igbrude, the National Coordinator, Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria, expressed regret that even some companies that were recently listed on the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) were still having unclaimed dividends.

Igbrude suggested that registrars should reach out to various shareholders through their contacts.

The national co-ordinator, who frowned at the dividend trust fund created by SEC, said that a multi-dimensional approach was needed to address the issue of unclaimed dividend in the country.

He said that all stakeholders must come together to educate shareholders and probate on what to do to claim their dividends.

“If people in Lagos can have unclaimed dividends, what will happen to all those people in the rural areas who do not know anything.

“On unclaimed dividends in banks, the bank can generate money out of the system, to be calling these people, shareholders to let them know they have unclaimed dividend with them.

“So, if the stakeholders are really sincere, a multi-dimensional approach is what we need if we actually want to address the issue.

“The company, the stockbroker, the registrar will get involved, and the association will get involved, so that education will continue,’’ he said.

Igbrude called on all stakeholders responsible for the process of transferring shares from the deceased person to their children to be made easy and transparent.

NAN reports that some banks’ unclaimed dividends for the 2024 financial year rose in spite of inauguration of Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) in collaboration with SEC.

United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc recorded N45.99 billion as unclaimed dividends for the 2024 financial year (FY) ended Dec. 31 as against the N14.895 billion posted at the same period in 2023.

Zenith Bank recorded N30.6 billion as unclaimed dividend in 2024 FY against the 30.1 billion declared in 2023.

Access Holdings Plc recorded a decline in unclaimed dividends with N17.73 billion in 2024 against the N21.3 billion declared in 2023. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Maureen Ojinaka/Ese E. Eniola Williams