Shareholders’ associations have kicked against the remittance of unclaimed dividends into the Unclaimed , managed in conjunction with the Debt Management Office (DMO).

The associations, in separate interviews with journalists yesterday, described the directive as an encroachment on investors’ funds and a threat to public confidence in the capital market.

The shareholders said unclaimed dividends remained the property of investors and should not be made available to the government for any purpose.

Their position followed the requirement under the Finance Act that capital market registrars transfer dividends that have remained unclaimed for six years or more into the UFTF.

Unclaimed dividends of listed companies in Nigeria stood at more than N21.5 billion for the 2025 financial year, with major companies, including Nestlé Nigeria Plc and Dangote Cement Plc, accounting for significant portions of the outstanding funds.

The President of the New Dimension Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Patrick Ajudua, said the government had no business taking control of unclaimed dividends belonging to shareholders.

Ajudua said shareholders had consistently opposed the inclusion of unclaimed dividends in a fund alongside unclaimed government money, adding that the two funds were fundamentally different.

He said the policy could undermine investors’ confidence because shareholders would become uncertain about the safety and availability of their dividends.

Ajudua urged the authorities to allow unclaimed dividends to remain with the companies concerned.

He said such funds could be deployed for business expansion while the principal remained available for eventual payment to the rightful shareholders.

Similarly, the Chairman of the Integrated Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Owolabi Peters, described the policy as unacceptable.

Peters said shareholders would continue to resist any attempt to take control of their unclaimed dividends.

Also speaking, the chairman of the Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Boniface Okezie, insisted that unclaimed dividends belonged to investors and should not be treated as government revenue.

Okezie said the government had no justification for taking control of dividends declared by companies but not immediately claimed by their shareholders.

Available records show that investors seeking to check or recover unclaimed dividends can search the relevant portals of the SEC or Central Securities Clearing System to confirm their names and outstanding balances.

They should also identify the registrar responsible for the company in which they hold shares and obtain the necessary e-dividend mandate form.

Meanwhile, earlier in the year, Africa Prudential Plc unveiled Sabivest, a digital investment and wealth management platform designed to simplify access to investment opportunities and portfolio management for Nigerians.

The chairperson of Africa Prudential, Christabel Onyejekwe, said the platform’s dividend management feature enabled investors to track dividends, receive notifications, access historical dividend records and obtain support in recovering unpaid or unclaimed dividends.