May 10, (THEWILL) — Imagine walking into a dusty room in your family home and discovering an old, forgotten trunk filled with cash. For many Nigerians, this isn’t just a flight of fancy; it is a documented financial reality that has reached staggering proportions.
Currently, over N190 billion in unclaimed dividends is sitting in the Nigerian capital market, waiting for its rightful owners to step forward. This massive sum represents profit distributions from successful companies that never reached the shareholders, largely because the bridge between the firms and their investors was broken by outdated records, changed addresses, or the simple passage of time.
This issue of “lost money” isn’t unique to Nigeria, though our scale is particularly concerning. In the United Kingdom, the Dormant Assets Scheme successfully funnels hundreds of millions of pounds from forgotten bank accounts and shares into social enterprises and community projects. Similarly, in the United States, every state maintains an “Unclaimed Property” office where billions of dollars are returned to citizens who simply forgot about old utility deposits or stock dividends. The difference is that in those climates, the systems for reclamation are highly automated and frequently updated. In Nigeria, while the process is becoming more digital, the burden of discovery still rests squarely on the shoulders of the individual investor.
Consider the story of a man we will call Mr. Okoro. Back in the mid-2000s, during the banking consolidation boom that swept through the country, he invested a portion of his hard-earned savings in several Nigerian banks and manufacturing firms. Life, as it often does, moved fast. He changed his surname after a family dispute, moved from Kaduna to Port Harcourt, and eventually switched banks.
Those physical dividend warrants—those pieces of paper that used to be sent via the post office—never found his new doorstep. For nearly two decades, his share of the profits sat in a vault, untouched, while he struggled to fund his children’s education. Mr. Okoro is the face of the N190 billion unclaimed dividend problem. He isn’t poor; he is simply disconnected from his own wealth.
The first step to fixing this financial “wahala” is a simple digital search. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the apex regulator of our capital market, maintains an online portal specifically for unclaimed dividends. It is essentially a digital “Lost and Found.” By visiting the SEC website and entering your name—or perhaps the name of a deceased relative whose estate you are managing—you can see a list of every company that owes you money. It is a moment of truth that often leaves people shocked to find they have been “accidental millionaires” for years without even knowing it.
Once you have identified that money is waiting for you, the next step is to identify the “gatekeeper,” known in the industry as the Registrar. You can find out which registrar is handling your specific shares through that same SEC portal or by checking the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) website. This is the office you will eventually need to communicate with to prove that you are indeed the rightful owner of those shares.
The real revolution in this process, however, is the shift from paper to the “E-Dividend” mandate. In the old days, you waited months for a piece of paper to arrive in the mail, which you then had to physically take to a bank to cough up the cash. If the mail was lost, the money was lost.
Today, the goal is direct credit. To stop the cycle of unclaimed funds, every investor is now encouraged to link their bank account directly to their stockholding. You can download an e-dividend mandate form from the website of your registrar or your bank. Once you fill this out and have it stamped by your bank, the information is sent to the registrar, and the years of backlog dividends are paid directly into your account.
The broader message here is that wealth is not just about what you earn today; it is about what you track and preserve. Whether you are a high-flying professional in Lagos or a retiree in a quiet village, that N190 billion belongs to people like you. It is the result of your sweat and your investment working in the background. In an era where every Naira counts, letting your legitimate earnings sit in a dormant vault is a luxury no one can afford. Take about ten minutes today to search the portal. You might just find that the financial breakthrough you’ve been praying for has been sitting in a registrar’s ledger all along, waiting for you to claim it.
The author, Adeniyi Bamgboye, a chartered accountant, tax expert, and policy analyst, is the managing partner of Empyrean Professional Services.
