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 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.
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.
He said the committee members would not just be representatives from the CBN, DMO and SEC but must include investors’ representatives to audit the funds annually.
Uwaleke said without the investors’ involvement, the market would view the UFTF not as a clever financing tool but as a quiet expropriation waiting to happen.
He also suggested 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 said 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,” he said.
According to him, 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 said strengthening claim processes, enhancing public awareness, and ensuring strict accountability in the management of the fund would help in preserving investor confidence and maintaining the integrity of the capital market.
”The Act explicitly set up a perpetual trust, allowing these idle assets- unclaimed dividends and dormant account balances- to be warehoused and temporarily deployed by the state, pending claims by beneficiaries.
”Furthermore, to be fair, Nigeria is not entirely alone in this practice. Several established jurisdictions, including parts of the United States and Canada, have escheatment laws that allow the state to take temporary custody of abandoned financial assets for public benefit, often reinvesting them in government securities.
”That said, legality does not automatically eliminate concerns. If the framework is implemented with strong safeguards- clear record-keeping, prompt repayment mechanisms, regular disclosures, and independent oversight, it could demonstrate financial innovation and improve asset utilisation without undermining ownership rights,” he said.
He also suggested an automated repayment mechanism that would honour the ten-working-day refund promise without bureaucratic excuses to avoid a negative spiral in the market.
On the decision by the Nigerian Exchange Ltd. (NGX) to extend its trading hours, Uwaleke said it was a commendable and forward-looking reform that aligned the country’s capital market with evolving global standards.
He said the extension would enhance price discovery, a gradual deepening of liquidity and a broadening of participation.
”With our current equities market capitalisation sitting comfortably above N140 trillion and year-to-date returns exceeding 35 per cent, the market is already on a strong footing. A longer session means that news flow- whether it is an early morning policy announcement by the CBN or a mid-day earnings release can be immediately priced in, rather than forcing investors to wait for the next day’s open.
”This reduces the kind of overnight gap risk that often frustrates traders.
”Second, it broadens access for the average Nigerian worker who cannot place a trade during a lunch break that falls after 2:30 p.m.
”Now, the retail investor has until 4 p.m. to react,” he said.
Uwaleke said the extended hours would make the NGX more accessible to international investors operating in different time zones, thereby enhancing cross-border capital flows.
He added that the time extension could stimulate greater activity in fixed income and derivative instruments, supporting the exchange’s ambition to evolve into a truly multi-asset marketplace.
NGX said the decision would take effect from April 27.
