FG taps insurance brokers to deepen reforms, policies

THE Federal Government has sought partnerships with strategic professional institutions like the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB) to drive reforms and policies that would guarantee the nation’s sustainable development.

Wale Edun, minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy, stated this when a delegation from NCRIB visited him in Abuja.

Edun said the government was prioritising pulling the economy out of the woods through pragmatic reforms, strengthening revenue and monitoring outcomes of government policies.

According to the minister, the government realised the need to collaborate with reputable professional institutions which are believed to bring value to the government’s new policy direction, hence an extension of hands of fellowship to notable bodies like the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers, especially in its economic task force team.

Earlier, Babatunde Oguntade, president of NCRIB, applauded the ministry for effectively anchoring the economic reforms of the present administration, which he stated, was already putting the country on the path of sustainable recovery.

He said the government needed to place greater emphasis on insurance as one of the economic reform strategies, bearing in mind the enormous risks in every endeavour of the government, coupled with the need to preserve the huge human and material resources of the government against unforeseen circumstances.

Oguntade called for the government’s commitment to the enforcement of the laws on compulsory insurance, which he noted, would buoy the solvency of the industry as well as guarantee the required peace of mind of the people and inflate the economy ultimately.

While advocating the involvement of registered insurance brokers in all government insurance accounts, Oguntade frowned at the practice of virement in yearly budgeted expenditure for insurance by the government, noting that the accounting practice had deprived the industry of its required revenue.

The NCRIB president also made a case for the removal of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) from the revenue-generating agencies of government which led to the government deducting 50 percent from its revenue or income, a situation he said could affect the effective legislative oversight of the regulatory body through the inadequacy of funds.