BETWEEN ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING (AGM) AND THE SHAREHOLDERS OF QUOTED COMPANY AT THE FLOOR OF NIGERIA STOCK EXCHANGE
Annual general meeting of a quoted company is normally a forum organize by a company to give her account of stewardship after the end of the year
financial period to shareholders, government agencies, private and public agencies, Non government organization, the general public etc, for assessment and for shareholders to appoint or re – appoint directors if necessary and to reappraise the level of the performance of the company.
Also annual general meeting is one of the mandatory lay down rules and regulations set aside by security and exchange commission for all quoted company to give or render there financial statement on quarterly basis and at the end of there financial year, published and distributed to the general public; to know the level of there performance and also to know may be they are in goal congruence with the standard rules of the government and the shareholders interest.
In another hand, a shareholder is someone who invested his/her money to a company either directly or indirectly in enhancing the smooth running of the company in anticipation of receiving dividend and bonus at the end of every given financial year.
The effort of the National assembly is highly commendable for the proactive action been taken in order to stop some of the negative trend of some quoted company and just of the recent, they invited the Director general of Nigeria stock exchange in order to know how best they can assist his commission to achieve his stated goal and to prevent the interest of the shareholders. The effort of the Director General of the Nigeria stock exchange is unmatchable, her action is immeasurable in promoting and enhancing the business, the woman had try and she had done a lots for the sustainance of the Nigeria stock exchange activities.
To the matter at hand, it is the function of the company management to call or invite all the company shareholders to a meeting annually in order to let them know the performance of the company as regard to the financial status of the firm, to measure these performances as regards to previous statement and for shareholders to cast or votes where necessary.
During this forum, shareholders are expecting juices in form of profit like; Dividends in form of money, bonus in firm of additional units to holding and capital appreciation as regard to the price of their stock at the floor of the Nigeria stock exchange.
But what baffled me most, is the way of which this annual general meeting were been organized, they normally called for meeting either Lagos or Abuja and 40% of this company shares were own by poor mass, who can not avoid to travel from his base to some of the venue of the meeting, for example, A person that has a thousand unit of share in a quoted company was invited for the company Annual General Meeting at Abuja, whereas he is residing at Ilu-Abo in Akure North Local government area of Ondo State and the dividends to be declared was 20k, or somebody living in Akwa-Ibom State with the same units of shares was invited to Lagos, how would they attend such, where the cost of transportation pose a threat to them.
My candid opinion about this Annual General Meeting of all quoted company need to be decentralized into segment in order to make it more effective and participatory, the meeting should be held in all the designated zones and collate the final report from each zone to the central zone so that every shareholders can cast their votes and contribute to the smooth running of the company.
The security and exchange commission should protect the interest of the poor mass from theirs negative trend because the poor mass own up of 40% of shares in all quoted company in Nigeria.
Government should also monitor the financial statement of this quoted company by using all appropriate commission to check them from manipulating their figures in order to confuse General public and their shareholder or to approach market to raise more fund, a good examples is that of nestle plc and the effort of Nigeria stock exchange was commanded for the action taken on the case.
The state government should also be supportive to this move by compelling the banks to distribute the financial statement of their bank to school library’s and student of higher learning in each state, and there activities should be monitor in order to pay their normal taxes and provide their social services for people, not only to tertiary and health institutions alone but to all segment of life.
The quoted company should know that information is the life wire of any organization and that they need to keep their shareholders inform of all activities as regarding the running of the business.
And some of this shareholders are roaming round the street without job, the company need to employ some of their shareholders who are quality to occupy each post as this will reduce the level of unemployment and restiveness in Nigeria.
Kayode Ifedayo Michael
Kaita local government secretariat
Katsina State
P. O. box 1759
Akure, Ondo State
Email-kayodeifedayo@yahoo.com
08034816014.
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