Abuja:<Text>
The President of the Capital Market Academics of Nigeria (CMAN), Prof. Uche Uwaleke, has called for an independent oversight committee involving capital market investors in the annual auditing of the Unclaimed Funds Trust Funds (UFTF). Uwaleke disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja. He was reacting to the N100 billion raised by the Federal Government from dormant bank balances and unclaimed dividends as part of its domestic borrowing programme.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the Unclaimed Funds Trust Fund (UFTF) in Nigeria, established under the Finance Act 2020, is a special, perpetual trust that houses dividends of public companies and bank balances that have remained unclaimed for at least six years. Managed in conjunction with the Debt Management Office (DMO), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), these funds remain the property of shareholders and can be reclaimed.</P&g
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Uwaleke emphasized that the committee members should not only include representatives from the CBN, DMO, and SEC but must also involve investors’ representatives to audit the funds annually. He argued that without investors’ involvement, the market would perceive the UFTF not as a clever financing tool but as a quiet expropriation waiting to happen.
He also proposed a publicly accessible, real-time digital registry where investors could instantly verify if their funds had been transferred and what interest it had accrued. Uwaleke noted that although the Federal Government’s decision to book N100 billion from the UFTF as a domestic borrowing instrument was legally grounded in the Finance Act 2020, it must be transparently and prudently managed.
Uwaleke stressed that the government must ensure that this is not seen as a convenient fallback for deficit financing, but rather as a carefully managed trust arrangement. He highlighted the importance of strengthening clai
m processes, enhancing public awareness, and ensuring strict accountability in the management of the fund to preserve investor confidence and maintain the integrity of the capital market.
The Act establishes a perpetual trust, allowing idle assets such as unclaimed dividends and dormant account balances to be warehoused and temporarily deployed by the state, pending claims by beneficiaries. Uwaleke pointed out that several established jurisdictions, including parts of the United States and Canada, have escheatment laws allowing the state to take temporary custody of abandoned financial assets for public benefit, often reinvesting them in government securities.
He suggested that if the framework is implemented with strong safeguards-such as clear record-keeping, prompt repayment mechanisms, regular disclosures, and independent oversight-it could demonstrate financial innovation and improve asset utilization without undermining ownership rights. Uwaleke also advocated for an
automated repayment mechanism to honor the ten-working-day refund promise without bureaucratic delays, preventing a negative market spiral.
On the decision by the Nigerian Exchange Ltd. (NGX) to extend its trading hours, Uwaleke described it as a forward-looking reform aligning the country’s capital market with evolving global standards. He stated that the extension would enhance price discovery, deepen liquidity, and broaden participation, making the NGX more accessible to both domestic and international investors.
NAN reports that the NGX had announced the expansion of its trading hours from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m (WAT) against the previous 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The decision is set to take effect from April 27.
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