NIA declines comment on NICON, Nigeria Re

Sunday Ojeme

The Nigeria Insurers Association has said that it will not comment on the takeover of one of its member companies, NICON Insurance Plc, by the Federal Government for now until it has studied the situation properly.
Speaking with our correspondent on Saturday, the Head, Corporate Affairs, NIA, Mr. Davis Iyasere, said only the National Insurance Commission could take a position on the matter for now, adding, however, that NIA would make its position known on the matter as events unfolded
Expressing gratitude to the federal government over the release of the recapitalisation funds held in an escrow account with the Central Bank of Nigeria since the exercise ended 10 months ago, he said the body had already congratulated its member companies that made the list after the long and tortuous journey.
“We also commend the government for taken such a step especially as regards the release of the trapped funds in an escrow account with the Central Bank of Nigeria,” he said.
The federal government, through the Minister of State for Finance, Mr. Remi Babalola, on Wednesday released the list of insurance companies adjudged successful during the recapitalisation programme. He also promised to effect the immediate release of the recapitalisation funds held in an escrow account to the various companies.
The government approved the issuance of final licenses to 48 insurance companies and one reinsurer.
Babalola said the funds estimated at over N80bn would be released to enable the companies operate their business.
He said the actions were taken in consultation with the President and the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice.
He said the measures were part of government’s efforts to remove the insurance sector from its globally insignificant and underdeveloped stage.
The release of the funds and the list of the successful companies have brought to an end the harrowing experience, which the operators had gone through for almost 28 months since the federal government directed them to shore up their capital base to N2bn for life, N3bn for general and N10bn for reinsurance.
The programme, however, ended on a sad note when a former Minister of Finance, Mrs Nenadi Usman, set up a panel to verify the exercise as well as investigate the activities of the former Commissioner for Insurance, Chief Emmanuel Chukwulozie, who supervised the programme.
Not satisfied with the constitution of the panel and the call to appear before it, the Group Managing Director, NICON Group of Companies, Mr. Jimoh Ibrahim, went to court to seek an injunction stopping the federal government from interfering with the management of NICON and others he took over during the recapitalisation exercise as well as stopping the implementation of the report of the technical committee on the verification exercise.
The court case further heightened tension in the industry until last week when Babalola ordered the release of the list and the funds as well as the dissolution of the boards of NICON and Nigeria Re.
According to the NIA spokesman, the development as regards the list and the funds is a positive one for the industry and hopefully, operators can now begin to invest their money as well as go into various expansion plans.
He said member companies had been directed to go to the CBN to access the fund, adding that no company had gone and reported back that it had not been able to access the funds.