Economy
Many Investors Have Abandoned Their Shares—SEC DG
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr Lamido Yuguda, has bemoaned the high level of unclaimed dividends in the capital market, enjoining investors to mandate their accounts for e-dividend in a bid to reduce the quantum.
Speaking last Friday when the Vice-Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, Prof Kabiru Bala led other top management of the school to the agency, the SEC DG said the major cause of this rising unclaimed dividends in the capital market was because many investors have abandoned their shares.
He, however, said to address this issue, the commission will collaborate with the institution to arrange investor clinics so as to further deepen the Nigerian capital market.
“So many investors have shares in the capital market and have abandoned them. People have not come forward to claim their dividends and this has led to huge unclaimed dividends and has increased the unclaimed dividends profile.
“The commission has over time been educating and enlightening the public on how they can get their dividends. Now they do not need to wait for the broker to send the dividend warrants through the registrars.
“The dividends can actually come to them directly into their bank accounts through e-dividend payments. We will arrange investor clinics to ABU to talk about issues in the capital market and encourage the staff and students to key in. ABU is reputed for giving the very best in tertiary education and some of us are proud graduates of the university,” Mr Lamido said.
He also said SEC is currently carrying out a number of initiatives that he stated would appeal to the younger generation and attract them to the capital market.
“Today, people like things they can do on their phones/tablets and that is why we are embracing technology in the capital market.
“Fintechs are attracting young people to do investments with their phones meanwhile the market still relies on paper documentation. This is really something of the past as we are committed to ensuring that our markets are technology-driven. Technology is the way to go and it is the way to really engage people. Once the youths buy an idea, it goes far and wide,” he stated.
In his remarks, the VC of ABU described the visit as part of the advancement of the university to keep in contact with their alumni as is done in most global universities.
He implored alumni to collaborate with their universities and institutions to assist such institutions where necessary adding that many universities are currently grappling with issues of funding.
“We know many institutions are grappling with issues of funding and these alumni can come in to assist. This will drastically reduce the incidences of industrial action by the staff,” he stated.
The Vice-Chancellor also requested for collaboration with the SEC that would enable undergraduates of the institution to intern with the commission for a specified period in a bid to understand in detail the workings of the capital market adding that, this will increase their employability chances.
“We are putting a lot of premium on these kinds of relationships to ensure that students can conduct research that would also be useful to the capital market. We are working towards reviving our endowment fund in a bid to bring sustainable development to the university and enhance revenue generation,” he added.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Debt Management Office (DMO) has asked retail investors interested in investing in the FGN savings bonds to begin to talk to their financial advisers.
This is because subscription for the retail bonds for March 2026 has commenced and will close on Friday, March 6, according to a circular issued by the agency on Monday.
The debt office is selling two tenors of the debt instrument, with the shorter note maturing in two years’ time and the longer maturing a year later.
Details of the notice showed that the two-year paper is being offered at a coupon of 12.906 per cent, and the three-year paper at 13.906 per cent.
Both notes are sold at a unit price of N1,000, with a minimum subscription of N5,000 and in multiples of N1,000 thereafter, subject to a maximum subscription of N50 million. They can be purchased via approved stockbroking firms in Nigeria.
The FGN savings bond qualifies as a security in which trustees may invest under the Trustee Investment Act. It also serves as government securities within the meaning of the Company Income Tax Act (CITA) and the Personal Income Tax Act (PITA) for tax exemption for pension funds, amongst other investors.
It can be used as a liquid asset for liquidity ratio calculation for banks, and is listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited for trading at the secondary market.
The bond is backed by the full faith and credit of the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) and charged upon the general assets of the country.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria has broken up the OPL 245 oil block into four new assets to be operated by Eni and Shell, potentially settling the future of the field at the centre of one of the oil industry’s biggest historic corruption trials.
According to Reuters, the agreement clears the way for the development of OPL 245, one of Nigeria’s biggest deepwater reserves that has remained untapped for almost three decades amid overlapping lawsuits in multiple countries.
The final contracts are expected to be signed starting Monday, the report said, citing a source familiar with the situation.
The Nigerian government had signalled for years that it was keen to find a solution that would bring the block into production. The source wished to remain anonymous as they are not authorised to comment on government policy before an official announcement.
Located in the Niger Delta’s deepwaters, the field has languished since its initial award in 1998 to Malabu Oil and Gas, a shadowy firm controlled by Mr Dan Etete, Nigeria’s oil minister at the time. The block is estimated to hold up to 9 billion barrels of oil equivalent in reserves—enough to rival Nigeria’s entire proven reserves if fully developed.
Mr Etete controversially awarded the lucrative licence to his own company for a nominal $20 million fee, sparking immediate controversy over conflicts of interest.
The saga escalated in 2011 when Malabu sold its rights to a Shell-Eni joint venture for $1.3 billion.
Italian and Nigerian prosecutors alleged that over $1 billion of that sum was siphoned off through bribes to politicians, middlemen, and Mr Etete himself, including hefty payments to then-President Goodluck Jonathan’s associates.
The two European energy giants and some of their former and current executives, including Eni CEO, Mr Claudio Descalzi, faced trial in Italy but all were acquitted in 2021, having denied all wrongdoing.
Shell and Eni have consistently denied wrongdoing, insisting the payments complied with due diligence.
The anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has pursued parallel probes, recovering over $200 million in frozen funds, but progress stalled amid political shifts.
Operations at the Nigerian oil block have been halted for more than a decade by a series of trials and competing legal claims.
In 2023, the federal government withdrew civil claims totalling $1.1 billion against Eni, ending the long battle.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol, has been increased by at least N100 per litre at the pump.
This followed the recent increase in the price of crude oil in the global market as a result of the bombardment of Iran by the United States and Israel over the weekend.
The air strikes killed the Supreme Leader of Iran, Mr Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and several others.
Iran has responded by firing missiles at US facilities in some Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, the UAE, and others.
Crude oil prices rose to about $80 per barrel on the market from about $70 per barrel before the Middle East crisis.
Oil marketers in Nigeria have responded to the tension and have raised the prices of petroleum products.
At most MRS Oil retail stations in Lagos, the new price notice showed an increase of about N100 per litre.
As of Monday, the price of PMS was N837 per litre, but on Tuesday morning, it had changed to N938 per litre, while at NNPC retail stations, it was N930 per litre instead of the previous N830 per litre.
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