Economy
Shareholders’ Groups Reject FG’s Plan to Spend Unclaimed Dividends
By Adedapo Adesanya
Two of the leading vocal shareholders’ groups, the Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN) and the New Dimension Shareholders Association, have condemned the federal government’s intention to borrow from the unclaimed dividends of investors in the stock market and dormant account balances of residents of the country, saying the decision is a disincentive to investment.
The Publicity Secretary of ISAN, Mr Moses Igbrude, noted that most assets managed by the government in the past were misappropriated and marred by corruption.
This development joins other criticisms that followed plans by the federal government in the 2020 Finance Act (Amendment) Bill to borrow from unclaimed dividends and dormant account balances under the Unclaimed Dividend Trust Fund worth nearly N900 billion.
Mr Igbrude noted, “The government that is supposed to protect its citizens wants to rob shareholders through this Unclaimed Dividend Trust Fund.
“The same government that wants investors to invest and grow the economy is the same government that wants to take away the proceeds of the investment just because shareholders did not claim it on time.
“Government has forgotten that it had taken over 30 per cent tax from the companies that generated the dividends from profit before tax, and another 10 per cent from the individual investors through withholding tax on any dividends declared by companies. What moral right does the government have to take the money?”
“Section 39 (f) of the Finance Bill stated, ‘All unclaimed dividend that has remained unclaimed for a period of not less than 12 years shall lapse into government revenue and shall be transferred from the Unclaimed Dividends Trust Fund to the Federal Account as Federal Revenue.
“This is unacceptable and an inhumanity to man. This would definitely erode investors’ confidence and militate against investment in Nigeria. We want those behind this proposal to have a rethink, otherwise, they will be in for a long legal battle with the shareholders.
“We are appealing to the National Assembly to reject and expunge in its entirety that section of the Bill, because from all intent and purpose the Unclaimed Dividend Trust Fund is designed to rob innocent Nigerians of their hard-earned money,” he added.
Adding his input, the President, New Dimension Shareholders Association, Mr Patrick Ajudua, noted that borrowing or setting up a trust fund for unclaimed dividends would create another opportunity for wasteful spending, insisting that the unclaimed dividends should go back to the companies.
Mr Ajudua explained further that the government has remained insensitive to the plight of listed firms and the capital market that generated the dividends through the years.
He noted that it was not only unacceptable to do this but this will serve as a disincentive to investment. He appealed to the National Assembly to reject and expunge the section of the bill, adding that borrowing it is another means of robbing shareholders of their hard-earned money.
“For us shareholders, it is unfortunate that the government has decided to annex money that does not belong to them to cover their hidden intentions.”
“Initially it was setting up a trust fund, and now they want to borrow; do you borrow money not given to you freely?
“Rather than encourage listed firms by to ploughing it back into these companies to boost their operations in this era of a pandemic, they decided to annex it forcefully, thereby discouraging retail investors from investing in the market,” he said.
Economy
BNB Price Reflects Changing Dynamics in the Digital Asset Market
Economy
NASD Unlisted Security Index Crosses 4,000-point Benchmark Again
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange achieved a milestone on Friday, April 24, 2026, after five securities on the platform helped with a 1.85 per cent growth.
Data showed that the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) again crossed the 4,000-point benchmark yesterday.
The index chalked up 73.64 points during the trading day to close at 4,052.59 points compared with the preceding session’s 3,978.95 points, while the market capitalisation added N5.38 billion to finish at N2.424 trillion versus Thursday’s closing value of N2.380 trillion.
The price gainers were led by Okitipupa Plc, which grew by N25.00 to sell at N305.00 per share compared with the previous price of N280.00 per share. Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gained N6.92 to close at N76.26 per unit versus N69.34 per unit, Afriland Properties Plc appreciated by N1.00 to N17.00 per share from N18.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc improved by 55 Kobo to N99.55 per unit from N99.00 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc increased by 5 Kobo to N2.70 per share from N2.65 per share.
However, there was a price loser, MRS Oil, which dipped by N21.75 to N195.75 per unit from N217.50 per unit.
During the final session of the week, the value of securities jumped 75.2 per cent to N41.3 million from N23.6 million units, and the number of deals expanded by 62.9 per cent to 44 deals from 27 deals, while the volume of securities declined marginally by 0.9 per cent to 447,403 units from 451,522 units.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.
GNI was also the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.6 million units transacted for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.
Economy
Naira Slips to N1,358/$1 as FX Reserves, Policy Uncertainty Concerns
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was not a good day for the Nigerian Naira in the currency market on Friday, April 24, as its value depreciated against the major foreign currencies at the close of transactions.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), it lost N4.53 or 0.33 per cent against the United States Dollar yesterday to trade at N1,358.44/$1, in contrast to the N1,353.91/$1 it was exchanged on Thursday.
Equally, the domestic currency slipped against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N8.14 to close at N1,834.02/£1, compared with the previous rate of N1,825.88/£1 and dropped N8.01 against the Euro to sell at N1,590.73/€1 versus N1,582.72/€1.
Also, the Naira depreciated against the US Dollar at the GTBank FX desk on Friday by N4 to quote at N1,370/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,366/$1, and at the parallel market, it depleted by N5 to settle at N1,380/$1 versus the preceding day’s N1,375/$1.
Data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that NFEM interbank turnover surged to N43.562 million across 68 deals, up from N28.117 million the previous day.
Despite the CBN’s reassurance that the recent drop in external reserves is not worrisome, the market remains unsettled by persistent concerns over liquidity constraints, policy transparency, and weakening confidence in Nigeria’s FX market as gross reserves continue to decline to $48.4 billion.
The outlook for the Dollar appears supported by broader macro risks, including elevated oil prices tied to the tanker traffic disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and a continued US-Iran standoff over ceasefire negotiations.
A look at the digital currency market showed that investors are sitting on the edge as the US Dollar rebounded amid geopolitical and inflation risks despite continued inflows into US spot bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
Solana (SOL) rose by 1.2 per cent to sell $86.45, Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $0.2517, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 0.9 per cent to $0.0989, Ripple (XRP) improved by 0.3 per cent to $1.43, Ethereum (ETH) soared by 0.2 per cent to $2,316.83, and Binance Coin (BNB) chalked up 0.1 per cent to sell for $637.44.
However, TRON (TRX) depreciated by 1.3 per cent to $0.3235, and Bitcoin (BTC) lost 0.2 per cent to close at $77,562.27, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
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