FG advises Nigerians to claim dormant account balances, unclaimed dividends now
- It appears the federal government is moving ahead with its plan to borrow unclaimed dividends and bank account balances
- This is part of moves by the FG to make Nigeria’s economic challenges less severe
- In light of this, Nigerians have been advised to start the process of making claims to the funds
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Ahead of the federal government's plan to borrow unclaimed dividends and dormant bank account balances, Nigerians have been advised by the Fiscal Policy Reforms Committee to start the process of claiming such funds if they were not up to six years.
In a report by Premium Times, the announcement was made by Bode Oyetunde, senior special assistant to the president on finance and fiscal matters and secretary of the committee, on Thursday, February 4.
Oyetunde gave the advice during a webinar to share perspectives on the implications of the Finance Act 2020, for capital markets and the financial services sector.
Source: Twitter
This followed concerns raised by Nigerians on FG's decision to make use of these unclaimed dividends to mitigate Nigeria’s economic challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Reacting to FG's plan, Volition Capital Investments with the Twitter handle @volitioncap wrote:
"Can owners get their money back?
Yes. The borrowed funds will be available for claim (alongside any interest) by the shareholders and the bank account holders at any time. However, the era of unclaimed dividends and dormant bank account balances is over. Stay woke."
SERAP asks lawmakers to stop Buhari from selling public properties
Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported that the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) called on the speaker of the House of Representatives Femi Gbajabiamila and the president of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, to stop President Muhammadu Buhari from selling Nigeria's properties to fund 2021 budget.
The organisation asked the presidency to identify areas where it can slash the salaries of their members. It said this will help in addressing the growing level of deficit & borrowing.
In its letter to the National Assembly leaders, SERAP said it is a breach of the constitution to allow government to sell properties to fund budget.
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Similarly, SERAP urged President Buhari to stop state governors from taking loans from pension funds.
The governors had claimed they wanted to use the money for infrastructural development. The group on its Twitter page Sunday, December 6, 2020, urged the president to immediately instruct the director-general and Board of the National Pension Commission to stop governors' move.
Source: Legit.ng
