By Bashir Mohammed
Kano
Some shareholders of the Nigerian Petroleum Company (NIPCO) in Kano have threatened to drag the company to court over non-payment of their dividends for 13 years.
Spokesman of the shareholders and chairman of state chapter of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Alhaji Bashir Dan-malam, made the threat while addressing a news conference in Kano on Wednesday.
He said the shareholders felt it necessary to take legal action against the company because it had refused to listen to them.
“I am one of shareholders of the company and most of our members (fuel marketers) in Kano, Katsina, Jigawa, Yobe and Bauchi states have for the past 13 years not collect a kobo as dividend from the company,” he said.
He alleged that even during the Annually General Meeting of the company, some of the shareholders who had grievances were not given the chance to ask questions or make remarks.
“During the AGMs, they hardly allow us to ask questions or make inquiries but, they only allow their friends and cronies to talk.
“We have resolved to stop attending the AGMs and we are going to take them to court if the issue is not resolved immediately.”
He, however, called on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to, as a matter of urgency, intervene in the issue in order to ensure that the company paid their outstanding dividends.
Efforts made to contact the chairman of NIPCO, Alhaji Aminu Abdulkadir, failed as he did not pick the several phone calls from reporters.
Similarly, a text message sent to the Abdulkadir was not equally replied as at the time of filing in this report.
