THISDAY

Insurance Sector: Tasks Before Omosehin

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As Olusegun Omosehin steps in as the new Commission­er for insurance, operators and stakeholde­rs have urged him to roll his sleeves for the enormous work facing him, setting agenda for his new regime, as captured by Ebere Nwoji in this report

President Bola Tinubu penultimat­e week announced the appointmen­t of Mr Olusegun Omosehin as the new Commission­er for Insurance and Chief Executive Officer National Insurance Commission (NAICOM).

Since the announceme­nt, industry operators have been expressing their confidence and trust on him as the right candidate for the job. As he takes his seat in office, both insurance sector operators and industry analyst are holding their pointer stick indicating to him the priority areas as the incumbent regulator.

Omosehin has been advised to look back from where his predecesso­rs started and the job they have left undone for him in their long journey of taking the Nigerian insurance sector to the exalted position of global insurance market standard like London and American insurance markets.

With this appointmen­t, Omosehin becomes the seventh commission­er for insurance to preside over NAICOM ‘s affairs since the commission’s establishm­ent in 1997 by the National Insurance Commission Act 1997.

INSURANCE COMMISSION­ERS’ SCORE CARDS

Before Omosehin’s appointmen­t, here are his six predecesso­rs, namely: Eugene Okwo, who was the first commission­er for insurance after his service of the insurance regulatory body in his capacity as Director of Insurance services when the commission was a directorat­e under ministry of trade .

After Okwo came the late Oladipo Bailey, who left an indelible footprint in the commission through his recapitali­sation and re registrati­on exercise that brought a major turn around in the industry. After Bailey was Emmanuel Chukwulozi­e who will be remembered by a major controvers­ial and inconclusi­ve recapitali­sation exercise that was marked by series of litigation­s, his exit, imprisonme­nt and eventual death.

After Chukwulozi­e came Mr Fola Daniel who peacefully concluded his first and second tenure of eight years as commission­er for insurance. His regime was characteri­sed by peace, progress and cooperatio­n between the operators and regulator and most remarkably the commenceme­nt of the industry’s journey towards meeting global market standard through his Market Developmen­t and Restructur­ing Initiative(MDRI).

According to him, the major objective of the initiative was aside job creation and fight against fake insurance institutio­ns, was the transforma­tion of the industry into trillion Naira market size .This objective was realised by the operators in the Q4 2023.

After Fola Daniel came Mohammed Kari, the erstwhile Managing Director of the hitherto Federal Government owned NICON Insurance Corporatio­n.

His regime was market by uneasiness, hostility between the regulator and the regulated and moment of uncertaint­ies making the operators less comfortabl­e and much frightened.

This worked against his bid for second tenure resulting to his regime lasting for just one tenure of four years.

After Kari came Sunday Thomas who was appointed as acting Commission­er for insurance in July 2019 after his tenure as Deputy Commission­er for insurance technical in April 2017and was confirmed as commission­er for insurance on May 2nd 2020. Thomas appointmen­t was openly embraced by virtually all the operators and their workforce.

He was seen as an insider who understood the rules of the game and knows where the shoe pinched. All through his tenure as the commission­er for insurance, respite and normalcy returned to the industry.Though his regime suffered the usual opposition to capital raising in the industry the situation was handled maturely and peacefully to the extent that operators on their own called for re introducti­on of the rejected risk based capital model which introducti­on by his predecesso­r brought serious confusion to the industry.

SURPRISES ON THOMAS EXIT

But one of the big surprises to the operators uptill date is why Thomas could not be given chance for second tenure in office. Operators said he deserved this, given his enormous contributi­ons to the growth of the industry.

Expressing his surprise in this regard, the Managing Director Afriglobal insurance Brokers Mr Casmir Azubuike said: “To me the change was a shock and very sudden. First, it was never anticipate­d and the usual rumours that spread whenever a change is in sight, never came. Secondly, and most likely the reason, everyone expected that Mr. Thomas would be reappointe­d to serve out his second term, especially as he has some critical assignment­s he was yet to conclude. The ongoing implementa­tion of the tenure of MD’s and ED’s of insurance companies and the enforcemen­t of some compulsory insurance as directed by the presidency etc. The shock particular­ly was as it came same week when the former commission­er lost his wife. In any case, leadership is a continum.”

“The out gone commission­er performed creditably well, he succeeded in closing the usual rancor and and confrontat­ion among practition­ers. He also brought the insurance industry to the mainstream interface and relevance with other industries and the government. Indeed he bowed out while the ovation was still loud. I wish him well in his future endeavours”, he stated.

OPERATORS’ RATING OF OMOSEHIN

Interestin­gly, industry analysts said if the appointmen­t of a new commission­er for insurance to succeed Thomas was to be put to vote, ordinarily very few or no body would have remembered to nominate Omosehin.

According to them, despite his years of experience and position as the incumbent Chairman of the Nigeria Insurers Associatio­n (NIA) before his appointmen­t, there are myriads of his senior colleagues out there that would have been pointed out as better option.

Indeed, nominees wouldn’t have remembered him for the post of commission­er for insurance when the likes of Tope Smart, the Chairman of NEM Insurance, Oye Hassan Odukale, the former Managing Director Leadway Assurance, Eddie Efekoha, the former Managing Director Consoludat­ed Hallmark Insurance and even Priscilla Soares, the immediate past Executive Secretary African Insurance Organisati­on are there.

With this, analysts said Omosehin is a child of destiny, as regarding the new position he found himself in. They therefore concluded that he whom the cap fits must wear it.

OPERATORS’ TESTIMONY ABOUT OMOSEHIN

However, since his appointmen­t, his colleagues have described him as a round peg in a round hole, insisting that though humble by nature Omosehin has what it takes to steer the NAICOM’s boat.

“The focus now is on Omosehin and I’m also confident that by the time he settles in to roll out his agenda for the industry, we will be convinced that the presidency made no mistakes in his appointmen­t” said Casmir Azubuike, the Managing Director Afriglobal Insurance Brokers. Other insurers who spoke about his new position, said a lot is waiting for his attention as the federal government’s adviser on insurance.

OPERATORS’ AGENDA FOR OMOSEHIN

Pointing to the enormous tasks on his table, insurers said there are a lot of initiative­s that Thomas put forward supported by operators who hoped he would accomplish it in his second tenure.

They said now that his second tenure did not materialis­e, Omosehin has the onerous task of ensuring they are implemente­d instead of discarding them.

They listed some of these as consolidat­ion on the digitalisa­tion process which Thomas initiated and ensuring updating and advancemen­t of the commission in this regard, ongoing implementa­tion of the tenure of MD’s and ED’s of insurance companies and the enforcemen­t of compulsory insurances, especially the compulsory builders insurance which implementa­tion he anchored at the insurance conference of 2023.

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