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The federal government has promised to seek the input of the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB) on economic policies.
The minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, gave the assurance when a delegation of the NCRIB paid him a courtesy visit in Abuja.
Edun told the leadership of the insurance brokers that the current administration was given 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 disclosed that 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 NCRIB, especially in its economic task force team
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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.
He stated that the government needed to place greater emphasis on insurance as one of the economic reform strategies, bearing in mind the endemicity of 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 specifically advocated a more stringent commitment of government 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.
He 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 from its revenue or income, a situation he said could badly affect the effective legislative oversight of the regulatory body through inadequacy of funds.
