Here are ten listed companies with the highest unclaimed dividends in 2025

Unclaimed dividends declared by ten of Nigeria’s listed companies fell to N21.5 billion for the financial year ended December 31, 2025, representing a 27 percent decline from N29.5 billion recorded in 2024.

Analysis by BusinessDay reveals that Nestlé Nigeria Plc, Dangote Cement Plc, MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, UAC of Nigeria Plc, BUA Cement Plc, Lafarge Africa Plc, AXA Mansard Plc, Unilever Nigeria Plc, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Aradel Holdings Plc, and Seplat Energy Plc collectively account for a significant share of dormant shareholder funds on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX).

Nestlé Nigeria Plc recorded the highest unclaimed dividend at N4.31 billion in 2025, although this marked a sharp 52 percent drop from N8.97 billion in the previous year. Dangote Cement Plc followed with N4 billion, down 23.1 percent from N5.2 billion in 2024.

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Lafarge Africa Plc posted N3.21 billion in unclaimed dividends, reflecting an 8.6 percent increase from N2.95 billion. In contrast, Nigerian Breweries Plc reported N2.7 billion, representing a 61 percent decline from N6.9 billion. Seplat Energy Plc disclosed that its unclaimed dividends comprised $284,365.91 and N1.99 billion.

MTN Nigeria Communications Plc reported N1.67 billion in unclaimed dividends, a 172 per cent increase from N612.5 million in 2024. The telecoms firm noted that no returned unclaimed dividends were received during the year, although funding requests from its registrar were honoured.

UAC of Nigeria Plc declared N1.2 billion in unclaimed dividends, down significantly by 75 per cent from N4.8 billion in the previous year, following transfers made in compliance with regulatory requirements.

Aradel Holdings Plc recorded N979.42 million, up 79 percent from N547 million, while BUA Cement Plc reported N979.42 million, representing a decline of 23.28 percent from N714.15 million in 2024, while Unilever Nigeria Plc fell to N0.6 billion from N3.2 billion in 2024.

However, AXA Mansard Plc declared the lowest among the group at N94.8 million, down 32 per cent from N139.24 million.

What are unclaimed dividends?
Unclaimed dividends are payouts declared by companies to shareholders but not collected within a specified period. This may occur when investors fail to update their bank details, change addresses without notification, lose share certificates, or remain unaware of dividend payments.

These funds typically remain with company registrars for a period before being transferred in line with regulatory provisions.

What the law says
Regulation of unclaimed dividends in Nigeria has evolved over time. In 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) directed registrars to return dividends that had remained unclaimed for 15 months or more to the paying companies.

However, the Finance Act 2020, which took effect from January 1, 2021, introduced stricter provisions. It mandates that any dividend unclaimed for a minimum of six years must be transferred to the Unclaimed Dividend Trust Fund, managed by the Debt Management Office (DMO).

For instance, Nestlé Nigeria disclosed that N4.1 billion in unclaimed dividends outstanding for six years and above was transferred to its registrars for onward remittance to the Trust Fund in 2025. Similarly, UAC of Nigeria confirmed the transfer of N4.1 billion in compliance with the law, as well as Unilever, which disclosed N2.8 billion transferred to the Unclaimed Funds Trust Fund in line with the SEC regulation in 2025.

How shareholders can receive unclaimed dividends
Shareholders can recover their unclaimed dividends through a structured process, even after funds have been transferred to the trust fund.

The first step is to complete an e-dividend registration with the company’s registrar. This involves providing bank account details, a valid means of identification, and a completed mandate form.

Investors who hold physical share certificates are required to dematerialise them by converting to electronic holdings through a stockbroker.

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Where dividends have been transferred to the UFTF under the Finance Act 2020, shareholders can still reclaim them, as they are treated as a special debt owed by the federal government. The process is managed by the SEC in collaboration with the DMO.

Market operators continue to urge investors to update their records and adopt the e-dividend platform to reduce the growing volume of unclaimed funds, which remains a persistent issue in Nigeria’s capital market.