In furtherance to its 2019 Annual General Meeting (AGM), Wema Bank Nigeria Plc has decided to remodel the process for the 2019 AGM due to the outbreak of COVID19 which has necessitated controlled movement across various states of the nation.
The bank which is also celebrating its 75th anniversary, has announced that the Annual General Meeting which is scheduled to take place on Monday, May 18th 2020 will now hold at the 5th floor of the Wema Towers, Marina Lagos, howbeit, it will be by proxy. Wema bank considers the well-being of its shareholders a key priority and given the potential risks of attendance, strongly advises against physical attendance.
The decision to hold the Annual General Meeting by proxy was made pursuant to regulatory directive and approval. This was made at the time where restriction was placed on movement within and across state borders due to the Federal government’s directive on total lockdown. However, in a bid to control the inadvertent spread of the corona virus, the bank has decided to go ahead with its initial plan of conducting its Annual General Meeting by proxy even after the ease of the lockdown.
Due to the severity of matters to be discussed at the Annual General Meeting, the bank has decided that the meeting should not be postponed to a later date than already scheduled, however given the circumstance; the meeting will be kept as short and concise as possible. Amongst the matters to be discussed are audited financial statements for the year, authorization of dividend, election and re-election of directors, and election of members of audit committee. Shareholders are therefore entitled to appoint a proxy to attend and vote in their stead.
As part of its preparations, the Bank has sent the process and procedure for selection of proxy and advised company shareholders to send their duly completed proxy forms to the office of the Company secretary via companysecretariat@wemabank.com on or before May 13, 2020.
This decision leverages the leeway made by the CAC in line with the provision of section 230 of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) on the use of proxies with the understanding that the quorum for an Annual General Meeting can be achieved either through physical attendance or by proxy.
