By Favour Nnabugwu

Shareholders in the nation’s capital market have cried to the Securies and Exchange Commission, SEC, to show more interest in their investment by protecting their funds from going down the drain.

Mrs Oteh

It is on record that Nigerian shareholders have had reasons in the past to complain about some of the challenges that have short-changed them.

Such complaints ranged from their inability to claim their dividends, to lack of information on how the market grows, as well as what some described as excessive use of pool voting by some companies to rip off a certain class of shareholders.

Others have complained about the harsh business environment that have not allowed companies to make good profit so that to pay out better dividends to its shareholders; while others complained of the inability of government, through its regulating agencies to clean up the environment.

When Vanguard spoke to some shareholders, they commended the commission for the training; they however, expressed divergent views on regulatory roles of SEC while some argued that there was nothing to cheer about.

For instance, Boniface Okezie, President of Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria (PSAN), was one of those who expressed such thoughts. He said such companies that declared their dividends for their shareholders should be commended because they could have invented any excuse to refuse to pay dividends, or even decide to plow the little profits they made back into the business

“It is good that investors are coming to be enlightened, you have something to take home that you have learnt, you will be able to give out information to improve the market.”

“We have learnt more about classifying their investments, mutual funds and trust funds.

Well the major challenges for me are that the regulators are not forthcoming in protecting investors; the investors always bear the brunt.”

“I think SEC should be mindful and do more concerning the protection of shareholders, some of them have been swindled and they should set out effective rules to guide the market and there have been transparency in the market and I applauded them in that aspect but they should be forthcoming in arresting this situation so that investors confidence will be boosted to remain in the market otherwise the confidence will continue to erode and people won’t want to invest in the market.”

For any company to declare dividend at all for its shareholders in the country today it calls for cheer and that company should be commended because it is not easy to do business in this country and make profit. The company could have decided to plough the profit back into the business and find any excuse not to pay dividend” he said.

He however said that posting dividends should not be enough for Nigerians to take their eyes off the important issues of shareholding and doing business in Nigeria. He, like several others, was not happy that government and its regulatory agencies have not made the business environment conducive for businesses in the country to thrive, make profits and subsequently pay dividends.

He said that government and its regulatory agencies have rather lived off the company rather than work to enhance the company. He said it was unfortunate that government have failed to recognise groups speaking out against the ills in the industry and fighting for its good, but chose to describe them as militants in the stock exchange.

One of the issues that the news brought was a recent call by a section of retail investors in Nigerian quoted companies on the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) to protect them from what they called “reap off of their funds”.

Okezie has however revealed that he and his colleagues had urged the SEC to protect shareholders.

Perhaps in reaction to accusations that regulatory agencies had not been doing enough, and to ensuring sound corporate governance in the nation’s capital market, urged SEC to wade into issues relating to corporate governance breaches in some companies.

Both the intervention and its outcomes affirmed Nigeria’s pole position in market regulation in Africa. It constituted a pathfinder on regulatory imperatives for multi market jurisdiction players in the robustly evolving African business landscape.

Mr Oyarinde Taiwo, President of  Proactive Shareholders Association of Nigeria,  PROSAN

They have already deepened our knowledge about the capital market about some of the products they are having, like the lecture we just had this morning on investment scheme, they show us that there are other vehicles like collecting investment scheme where they can also encourage members to be involved, they can really deepen our market and also encourage participation in the capital market.

“The major challenges of shareholders, which l have observed is mainly ignorance which I believe SEC is trying to fill in that gap. If you see some of the conducts and some of the ways the so called shareholder leaders are doing things you start to predict what will happen to their followers but I believe by the time they are able to handle the leadership, I believe we are going have a better shareholders and better capital market in the long run”

As for the benefit from the academy, he remarked, “SEC is doing a very wonderful job let me give you an instance, I believe that some of the areas the world bodies are looking into is investors education which SEC has started two, three years ago which means they are in line with what is happening in the global front, so SEC is really doing their best which is a welcome development to the market.”

“As a backdrop to the pacesetting intervention, SEC Nigeria highlighted the consumer protection motivation by quickly assuring investing publics that the Commission would take all necessary steps to ensure that shareholders are protected.”