Erstwhile chairman of Diamond Bank Board of Directors, Mr. Seyi Bickersteth is dead.

According to multiple sources, Mr Seyi was found dead in his Ikoyi apartment. The cause of his death is yet to be unravelled as at the time of reporting this.

Until his death, Mr Seyi was a Regional Managing Partner and Chairman of Andersen Tax, Africa. According to his LinkedIn profile, he started his career at Arthur Andersen as a partner and rose through the echelons to his most recent position, in a career that spanned over forty years.

Mr Seyi is an alumnus of the famous University of Ibadan and York University, Canada where he obtained a Bachelor`s and Masters’ degrees in Economics respectively. He is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (FCA) and Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (FCTI).

Mr Seyi was most remembered for his pioneering role as a team leader of Arthur Anderson team in the 1988 International Merchant Bank (IMB) restructuring exercise. He served in various leadership positions and Boards in top firms like; KPMG, ARM and the defunct Diamond Bank.

Nairametrics had earlier reported the resignation of Mr Seyi from the Board of Diamond Bank in 2018.

Details of his burial and other relevant information will be subsequently communicated.

The Board of Directors of Africa Prudential Plc has proposed a sum of N1 billion as dividend to shareholders for the period ended 31st of December 2020.

This is according to a disclosure signed by the firm’s secretary, Joseph Jibunoh and sent to the Nigerian Stock Exchange, as seen by Nairametrics.

According to the notification, the proposed dividend will be paid electronically to qualified shareholders on the 26th of March, 2021, subject to appropriate withholding tax and approval from the company’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) scheduled a day earlier.

The breakdown of the proposed dividend shows that a sum of 50 kobo will be paid for each outstanding 2,000,000,000 ordinary shares of the company, held by its shareholders, totalling N1 billion. The proposed dividend is 28.6% lower than the 2019 figures of N1.4 billion.

The comparative decline in the company’s proposed dividend for the year might be attributed to a recent dip in profit and other key metrics recorded by the firm in its latest audited financial statement for 2020. For example, the firm posted a profit of N1.45 billion for the year, indicating a decline of 13.98% YoY. In addition, its earnings per share declined by 14.29% to print at 72 kobo.

What you should know

• Africa Prudential had recently announced the appointment of Mrs Zubaida Rasheed as Director.
• Africa Prudential Plc, formerly known as UBA Registrars Ltd, was incorporated as a private limited liability company on 23rd March 2006. It was listed in the NSE on 17th of January, 2013.