FG rallies insurance professionals on economic stability

The federal government has expressed its readiness to engage industry professionals for policies that would drive economic sustainable development.

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, gave the assurance when the delegation of the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB) paid the minister a courtesy visit in Abuja.

Edun said the present administration is giving primacy to getting the economy out of the woods through pragmatic reforms by getting hold of government revenue and monitoring effective outcomes of government policies.

The Minister maintained that the government realised that there is a 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.

Speaking at the meeting, the President of NCRIB, Prince Babatunde Oguntade, 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.

Oguntade said that there is a need for the government to place greater emphasis on insurance as one of the economic reforms’ strategies, bearing in mind the endemics of risks in every endeavour of the government, coupled with the need to preserve the huge human and material resources of government against unforeseen circumstances.

However, he advised the government on the stringent commitment of government to the enforcement of the laws on compulsory insurances 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 passionate case for the removal of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) from the revenue-generating agencies of government which led to the government deducting 50 per cent front its revenue or income, a situation he said could badly affect the effective legislative oversight of the regulatory body through inadequacy of funds.