BABAJIDE OKEOWO
The Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, has extended the deadline for the discontinuance of the issuance of dividend warrants to December 31, 2019, to enable relevant stakeholders deliberate on and address all outstanding issues.
This is contained in a circular issued to relevant stakeholders, which was sighted by The Nigerian Xpress
According to the commission, following the recently conducted strategic meeting of the implementation of the e-dividend initiative, there are still some issues that needed to be resolved as a precursor to the total discontinuance of the issuance of dividend warrants by Registrars.
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“The Commission recently conducted a strategic assessment of the implementation of the e-dividend initiative across the country and reviewed feedback/observations received from stakeholders and the general public. The assessment revealed that while remarkable progress has been recorded in concerted efforts through robust enlightenment campaigns to mobilize more shareholders to get mandated on the e-DMMS platform, there remain a few pertinent issues that needs to be resolved as a precursor to the total discontinuance of the issuance of dividend warrants by Registrars”.
As a result, the commission extended the deadline for the discontinuance of the issuance of dividend warrants to 31st December 2019.
“Consequent upon the foregoing, the Management of the Commission has extended the deadline for the discontinuance of the issuance of dividend warrants to 31st December 2019, to enable relevant stakeholders deliberate on and address all outstanding issues. The decision of the Commission is in furtherance of its overriding mandate to ensure that all categories of shareholders and investors are adequately protected. However, the e-dividend initiative remains critical to the complete elimination of the phenomenon of unclaimed dividend and Management of the Commission encourages all shareholders who are yet to do so, to get mandated on the e-DMMS platform before 31st December 2019,” the circular stated.
