By Peter OBIORA InvestAdvocate
Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE) – Guinness Nigeria Plc has reported 25, 309 unclaimed dividend warrants of shareholders of the company.
This is contained in the company’s list of unclaimed dividends 2013-dividend 80 made available to InvestAdvocate in Lagos Nigeria.
According to the company, the announcement of the unclaimed dividend is in compliance with Section 382 (1) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act [Cap C20, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
Guinness Nigeria said the published booklet contains the names of shareholders whose dividend warrants as indicated above (Dividend 80,) have been returned unclaimed because their addresses could not be traced.
The company advised affected shareholders to contact its Company Secretary at its corporate head office located at 24, Oba Akran Avenue Ikeja.
’’For unclaimed dividends prior to Dividend 80, you should similarly contact the Company Secretary at the address indicated above. However, for dividends after Dividend 80, please contact: Veritas Registrars Limited (formely Zenith Registrars Limited), Plot 89A, Ajose Adeogun Street, Victoria Island, Lagos. Those applying to the Company Secretary for payment of unclaimed dividends should send along with their applications either the original dividend warrants or photostat copies of their relevant share certificates to facilitate identification and payment,’’ the company said.
This is coming on the heels of recent reports in the media that unclaimed dividends is not more than N45 billion according to a committee inaugurated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)) to look into the matter.
The committee’s figure headed by Kyari Bukar, Managing Director (MD), Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS), is in contrast with the earlier reported N60 billion by InvestAdvocate which the SEC board put the total as at March 2013.
Suleiman Ndanusa, the Chairman of SEC in its maiden meeting in March 2013 with Publishers and Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of media organisations in Nigeria said unclaimed dividend has hit N60 billion.
Ndanusa affirmed at the time he was the Director General (DG) of the Commission, the level of unclaimed dividend was just about N8.0 billion, ”today I’m told its about N60 billion, something is wrong, why is unclaimed dividends growing; because if a Company is declaring profit and not paying dividend; then there is a problem.
The issue of Unclaimed Dividend Trust Fund was first proposed in year 2006 under the Olusegun Obasanjo administration and was opposed by stakeholders in the capital market.
As at year 2010, the amount of unclaimed dividends was estimated to be over N20 billion.
In a Journal of Financial Management & Analysis, July 2006 by Ifuero Osad Osamwonyi, Osarobo Churchill Imasuen, It was affirmed that the growth of unclaimed dividends in Nigeria has been phenomenal. As at the end of 1999, the figure had risen to about N2.0 billion.
From N2.09 billion as at third quarter (Q3) of 1999, the figure for unclaimed dividends has risen significantly over the years to about N17.9 billion as at December 2008, SEC was quoted by the paper as saying and that this figure was obtained from the companies not from their Registrars.
