In its bid to enable relevant stakeholders discuss address all outstanding issues pertaining to the issuance of dividend warrants, the securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), on Thursday in a statement said it has extended the deadline for its discontinuance until December 31, this year.
This means that public companies can still issue dividend warrants to their shareholders this year.
A circular on the Commission’s website, said the decision is in furtherance of its overriding mandate to ensure adequate protection of all categories of shareholders and investors.
The commission however stressed that the e-dividend initiative remains critical to the complete elimination of the unclaimed dividend menace and encouraged all shareholders to get mandated on the e-DMMS platform before December 31, 2019.
Recall that the SEC 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 issue that need to be resolved as a precursor to the total discontinuance of the issuance of dividend warrants by Registrars” the circular added