All Posts in "Month: April 2022"

Sammy Olaniyi harps on benefits of ECOWAS Brown Card

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

Stakeholders in the ECOWAS Brown Card insurance scheme are intensifying efforts geared towards expanding the scope, penetration and benefits of the scheme as it applies across the 14 West African countries including Nigeria.

Dr. Sammy Olaniyi who is the Executive Director, Operations at Regency Alliance Insurance Plc represented the Nigerian insurance market on the visit to the Comptroller of Customs Seme Command Mr. B.M. Jibo. Regency Alliance Insurance Plc is the lead insurance company in Nigeria on the ECOWAS Brown Card insurance scheme. Regency Alliance Insurance Plc is one of the leading Insurance companies in Nigeria and the West African sub-region.

It has over 20 years experiences. The company offers a wide range of insurance products and services, including risk underwriting, risk management, asset management, medical insurance, and savings and investments.

It was in furtherance of such engagements that stakeholders’ meeting of the Joint Border Post had after its recent meeting pulled representatives of the ECOWAS Brown Card scheme in Nigeria to engage authorities of the Nigerian Customs and Immigration Services with the view to extracting their commitment towards making the scheme more impactful as outlined by the founding fathers.

Stakeholders’ meeting of the Joint Border Post had earlier held at Seme Border after which a  delegation of Nigeria’s insurance industry handling ECOWAS Brown Card insurance scheme paid courtesy visit on Comptroller of Customs Seme Border as part of strategies on creating awareness, deepen market penetration for the scheme as well as reduce instances of fake certificates.

It will be recalled that the main objective of the ECOWAS Brown Card insurance scheme is to guarantee to the victims of road accident a prompt and fair compensation of damages caused by nonresident motorist from ECOWAS member states visiting their territory. In Europe, the Green Card, a similar Scheme was established in 1953.

ECOWAS Brown Card Insurance Scheme was established by Protocol A/P1/5/82 signed by the Head of States and Governments of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on May 29, 1982 in Cotonou, People’s Republic of Benin.

The ECOWAS Brown Card Scheme operates through a 14 National Bureaux network spread throughout the 14 Member States. Each National Bureau plays two major roles.

The first of such rules is to ensure Brown Card availability for local motorists; National Bureau operates therefore as an Issuing Bureau. The second is to conduct investigation and settle claims arising from an accident caused by motorist holders of Brown Card. It then acts as a Handling Bureau

The ECOWAS Brown Card is issued on the basis of the original civil liability guarantee. Thus, to obtain an ECOWAS Brown Card, you must return to the insurance company from which your usual insurance policy was taken out. Only such insurance company is authorized to issue the ECOWAS Brown Card.

Speaking on the relevance of the relevance of the visit on the Comptroller of Customs Seme Command Dr Sammy Olaniyi explained that there is the urgent need for all the stakeholders on the scheme Customs and Immigration inclusive to be on the same page as to ensure for the effective implementation and enforcement of the scheme.

According to him, the issue of the ECOWAS Brown Card insurance scheme goes beyond the issue of statute to include the need to encourage trade and movement among the West African region.

“The essence of the courtesy visit to the Comptroller of Customs Seme Command is on how to make the Brown Card more functional and to eliminate fake. The scheme has so many benefits to Nigerians since Nigerians are always on the move. It encourages trade and commerce among the sub region. I will encourage more Nigerians to embrace the scheme”, Dr Olaniyi explained.

He had gone further to urge patrons of the ECOWAS Brown Card insurance to go steps further to expand the scope of their cover to the level of a comprehensive cover adding that the gains outweigh to sum insured.
Patoma Admin by — April 6, 2022 in Insurance 0
Buhari signs Executive Order 11 on national public buildings maintenance

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

***Direct MDAs to set maintenance department

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has today  signed into law the Executive Order 11 on national public buildings maintenance.

The signing of the document preceded the weekly virtual Federal Executive Council, FEC, meeting at the Council Chambers, Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Speaking shortly before appending his signature, the President Buhari directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDA’s, to set up maintenance departments in line with the provisions of the new Executive Order.

He said the order gives legal backing to the country’s national maintenance policy, following its earlier approval by the FEC.

President Buhari added that government had already started utilising the policy to give face lift to some of its buildings like the federal secretariat Abuja and 24 others spread across the country.

He said, “Since the approval of the policy by the Federal Executive Council, the federal government has consciously started the implementation of maintenance of strategic facilities like the federal secretariat Abuja and federal secretariats in 24 states of the federation, where at least 40 people are now daily employed in each of those 24 secretariats.

“The office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation has approved the establishment of a department of federal public assets maintenance as a vital step in support of the implementation of this national policy, which is unprecedented in our history and approach to maintenance.

“In order to ensure the fullest implementation and impact of the policy, it is my pleasure to sign this Executive Order that ties maintenance direct to our economy. By this Order, I expect Ministries, Departments and Agencies to set out and ensure the operation of their maintenance departments and make necessary procurements for their maintenance in accordance with the provisions of the public procurement act.”

Patoma Admin by — April 6, 2022 in News 0
UK: Nigerian student dies after eating cannabis sweet bought online

By admin

 

Damilola Olakanmi, a Nigerian law student based in East London, The United Kingdom, has died after eating the cannabis sweet she bought via a messaging app on her phone.

The UK Evening Standard reported that Olakanmi, 23, immediately fell ill after taking the sweet on March 29 and had to be rushed in a critical condition to Queen’s Hospital, London, via an air ambulance.

The University of Hertfordshire undergraduate eventually died at the hospital on April 2 from complications from the intake of the substance.

A US-based student and friend of Olakanmi, who also took from the substance while on a visit to the deceased, fell ill, but was later discharged by doctors after responding well to treatments.

According to Richard Taylor, a justice campaigner and friend of Wumi, the deceased’s mother, the late law student was an only child.

“Wumi has lost her only child – she has nothing now,” Taylor was quoted to have said. “They had to hold her up because she broke down every time a friend came to the house to give support.
“It’s a tragic warning to all young people about how they live their lives. They should resist drugs.”

“Damilola was a promising young woman who should be looking forward to her future and having children of her own. She was studying law.”

A relative, named only as Dunni, added the family were demanding answers.

She said: “Damilola was a sweet, quiet girl – a bit of an introvert. Her mother looked up to her.

“She was very kind and loved looking after children and wanted to please everyone. The family will never come to terms with this. We need to know what happened. Her mother is not young any more.

Leon Brown, 37, of South Norwood, London, has been arrested by the police in connection with the incident.

He was subsequently charged with possession with intent to supply Class B synthetic cannabinoid, a psychoactive substance.

Patoma Admin by — April 6, 2022 in Metro 0
AM Best Assigns Performance Assessment to Castel Underwriting Agencies Limited, Castel Underwriting Europe B.V.

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

AM Best has assigned a Performance Assessment of PA-2 (Excellent) to Castel Underwriting Agencies Limited (Castel) (United Kingdom) and Castel Underwriting Europe B.V. (CUE) (Netherlands).

CUE is a wholly owned subsidiary of Castel. The outlook assigned to the Performance Assessment (assessment) is stable.

This assessment reflects Castel’s excellent underwriting capabilities, excellent governance and internal controls, excellent financial condition, excellent organisational talent and excellent depth and breadth of relationships.

In AM Best’s view, CUE’s operations exhibit a number of commonalities with Castel and CUE is regarded as strategically and financially important as the group’s European platform, providing access to business in the European Economic Area. CUE is integrated with Castel and has common underwriting practices, with generally consistent underwriting performance expected.

Castel, through its model of investing in early-stage managing general agents (MGA) and underwriting teams (collectively “underwriting cells”) on its club-style MGA platform, has access to expert and experienced underwriters with a proven track record in their niche. Underwriting capabilities further benefit from Castel’s in-house underwriting staff. Since launching in 2014, Castel has demonstrated its ability to grow its underwriting cells whilst providing profitable business to its capacity providers. The limited track record of a number of Castel’s programmes is considered a partially offsetting factor to the underwriting capabilities component.

Castel’s governance and internal controls benefit from its scale, relative to many other delegated underwriting authority enterprises (DUAEs) in the market. The company has an appropriate committee structure, including a board of directors featuring independent and non-executive directors, supported by a number of other committees. The company performs internal reviews regularly, covering underwriting and compliance. There is limited integration of systems with (re)insurance partners.

Castel’s financial condition is supported by its consistently profitable operations since inception. Stability of income benefits from the broad range of programmes underwritten by the company, reducing dependence on any single programme. AM Best considers the acquisitive nature of Castel’s business model to pose some risks to the company’s financial condition. The company is aware of and actively manages these risks.

Castel’s senior management team is experienced and has a proven track record in the industry. The company’s board of directors brings further experience and oversight. The organisational structure is well-defined with a clear path of reporting duties.

Castel offers a range of programmes in its core markets in the United Kingdom and Europe, as well as internationally. The company has relationships with a high number of well-rated capacity providers. A significant portion of Castel’s processed premium is placed with capacity providers that have supported Castel for at least three years.

Patoma Admin by — April 5, 2022 in Insurance 0
FAAN pensioners barricade agency’s gate over CPA implementation

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) pensioners on Tuesday barricaded the entrance to the agency’s regional headquarters in Ikeja over what they described as management’s inability to implement of Consequential salary /Pension Adjustment (CPA)

Displaying various placards, the pensioners have vowed to remain at the gate FAAN hindering movement

The FAAN management had promised to start the payment of the CPA in March but has not met its obligations

The secretary of NUP FAAN branch, Comrade Emeka Njoku while addressing the pensioners accused the FAAN management of being insensitive to their plights as senior citizens

He said the current management of FAAN compounded their issues by paying workers first before pensioners, saying that pensioners were paid first before workers by the past management

An implementation committee was set up comprising two members of NUP, two representatives of the director of finance FAAN, a representative of the audit department and three from the human resources and administration directorate to draw up a template for the Consequential salary /pension adjustment as concrete evidence, provide evidence of progress implementation from various directorates within two weeks in March 2022

Based on this development, the NUP which had earlier threatened protest across the country’s airport decided to suspend it.

Njoku then told journalists that series of meetings were held between them and the management of FAAN without positive results

In September 2021, FAAN management agreed to commence payment in January 2022 but failed to meet up. With this, the NUP gave ultimatum to FAAN to pay on or before 1st March 2022 and a meeting was brokered while the protest was shelved.

It was then agreed that by the end of March that the issues will be resolved but FAAN did not meet up with the agreement

In his solidarity speech, the general secretary of Association of Aviation Professionals (ANAP) Comrade Abdulrasaq Saidu said there were so many deceit in the system accusing the human resource department of FAAN for not telling workers the real situation of condition of Service

Saidu, noted that the absence of board of directors for aviation parastatals has been the greatest problem of the agencies

Patoma Admin by — April 5, 2022 in Pension 0
Russia resumes flights to 52 ‘friendly’ nations

By admin

 

Russian news agency TASS reported that restrictions on flights from Russia to 52 countries would be canceled from April 9. These restrictions were put in place to slow the spread of COVID and are being lifted on the advice of the operational headquarters for combatting coronavirus.

Russia Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin announced the move, which he says applies to “friendly states”,

“Starting from April 9 we are lifting restrictions set for combatting coronavirus pandemic, which applied to our regular and charter flights between Russia and a number of other countries. Now we are resuming flights with 52 countries, including Argentina, India, South Africa and other friendly states.”

Mishustin added that earlier, it was possible to fly to 15 countries without restrictions, including some states of the EAEU (the Eurasian Economic Union), Qatar, Mexico, and others.

The EAEU is an economic union of Russia and its ‘near neighbors’, formed after the demise of the Soviet Union to foster trade and development. It’s often seen as a foil to the European Union’s influence, and key member states are Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan.

The TASS statement lists all 52 states where flights can be resumed, which can be loosely grouped as being in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and South and Central America.

Some of the countries that can fly to and from Russia from April 9 include Brazil, China, Turkey, Israel, India, Pakistan, South Africa, North Korea, Seychelles and Saudi Arabia.

While part of Russia’s retaliation to economic sanctions was to close its airspace to airlines from 36 countries, international flights are already arriving and departing from Russia on a daily basis.
A quick scan of today’s flight boards at Moscow’s two airports, Sheremetyevo (SVO) and Domodedovo (DME), show carriers including Emirates Airlines, Air Arabia, Etihad Airways, SriLankan Airlines, Qatar Airways, Air China, and Air Serbia operating international flights.

Flightradar24.com data shows a popular track of flights from Dubai crossing Iran, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, and through Russia to Moscow, such as Emirates Airlines EK133 and Aeroflot SU527. This is a simple corridor from Russia to the Middle East, where connections can be made to all of those ‘friendly countries’ the Russian prime minister talks so fondly of.

While Russia is now the world’s most sanctioned country, ahead of Iran, Syria, and North Korea, it is not facing sanctions from countries in Central and South America, Africa, the Commonwealth of Independent States, and Asia, apart from Japan.

With all of those regions open to them, Russian airlines have a large and safe playing field in which to operate. Presumably, the lack of sanctions means refueling the aircraft or fixing any MRO niggles will not be an issue.

Going in the other direction, large markets like China, India, Africa, and South America will be able to connect with Russia for trade, tourism, and general travel.

Perhaps even the oligarchs will get their Gulfstreams and Globals out again and head out for some summer sun, well beyond the reach of the authorities who would confiscate their aircraft and leave them stranded.

Patoma Admin by — April 5, 2022 in Aviation 0
NIN-SIM linkage: FG bars outgoing calls from today

Favour Nnabugwu

The Federal Government has approved the barring of outgoing calls for telecommunications subscribers who are yet to integrate their National Identification Number, NIN, with their Subscriber Identification Module, SIM from today.

In a statement by the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC signed by Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde.
Henceforth, subscribers of such lines are can only make when they have linked their lines.

According to the statement, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Ali Pantami commended Nigerians and legal residents for their support during the exercise to link National Identification Number (NIN) to the Subscriber Identification Module (SIM).
He said that as of date, over 125 million SIMs have had their NINs submitted for immediate linkage, verification and authentication.

The statement reads: “Similarly, the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has issued over 78 million unique NINs till date.

“It would be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari gave the directive for the implementation and commencement of the exercise in December 2020, as part of the administration’s security and social policies.

“The deadline for the NIN-SIM linkage has been extended on multiple occasions to allow Nigerians to freely comply with the policy.

“The FG also took into consideration the passionate appeals by several bodies – Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Civil Societies, Professional Bodies and a host of others – for the extension of the deadlines in the past.

“Accordingly, Mr. President approved the many requests to extend deadlines for the NIN-SIM linkage.

“At this point, however, Government has determined that the NIN-SIM Policy implementation can proceed, as machinery has already been put in place to ensure compliance by citizens and legal residents.

“The implementation impacts on Government’s strategic planning, particularly in the areas of security and socio-economic projections.

“President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the implementation of the Policy, with effect from the 4th of April, 2022.

“Consequently, the Federal Government has directed all Telcos to strictly enforce the Policy on all SIMs issued (existing and new) in Nigeria.

“Outgoing calls will subsequently be barred for telephone lines that have not complied with the NIN-SIM linkage Policy from the 4th of April, 2022.

“Subscribers of such lines are hereby advised to link their SIMs to their NINs before the Telcos can lift the restriction on their lines.

“Affected individuals are advised to register for their NINs at designated centres and thereafter link the NINs to their SIMs through the channels provided by NIMC and the Telcos, including the NIMC mobile App.”

The statement reads further: “Pantami specially appreciates President Muhammadu Buhari for his support.

“He also commended the Executive Vice-Chairman of the NCC Prof. Umar Dambatta, the Director-General/Chief Executive Officer of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Engr. Aliyu Azeez Abubakar, along with their Management and Staff, as well as other notable bodies whose efforts have seen to the monumental success of the exercise.”

The Minister also extended his thanks to the telecommunication operators for their support towards the success recorded.

The Minister also emphasized that “enrolment for the NIN is a continuous exercise and NIN is a precondition for service in Telcos, banks, Nigerian Immigration Service, and for several other government services.

He also encouraged Nigerians and legal residents to visit NIN registration centers for the enrollment and issuance of valid NINs.

Patoma Admin by — April 4, 2022 in Technology 0
Pension assets rose by N340bn in two months

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

Total assets under the Contributory Pension Scheme gained N340bn in two months and rose to N13.76tn as of the end of February. 2022

The National Pension Commission (PenCom) made this known in its latest report, titled ‘Unaudited report on pension funds industry portfolio for the period ended 28 February 2022; Approved Existing Schemes, Closed Pension Fund Administrators and RSA funds (Including unremitted contributions @CBN & legacy funds).’

The funds, which ended December 31, 2021, at N13.42tn, rose to N13.61tn as of the end of January 2022.

The data showed that N8.51tn of the total funds was invested in Federal Government securities, comprising bonds and Treasury Bills, in February.

Other investment portfolios where the funds were invested include domestic and foreign ordinary shares; corporate debt securities comprising corporate bonds, corporate infrastructure bonds, corporate green bonds, and supranational bonds.

PenCom also stated that the total number of workers with Retirement Savings Accounts rose slightly to 9,589,721 as of February ending from 9,529,127 as of the end of December 2021.

Patoma Admin by — April 4, 2022 in Pension 0
Insurance can help countries achieve UNSDGS – Naicom

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

The Commissioner for Insurance/CEO, National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), has said that insurance can can help countries achieve United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs)

In his opening remarks at the Declaration on insurance conference in Lagos yesterday, Olorundare Sunday Thomas, NAICOM boss said the conference has brought together stakeholders in the African insurance market to deliberate on modalities to facilitate attainment of a sustainable future.

Thomas explained that the conference also aims to explore ways that insurance can play a significant role in helping African countries achieve the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) in terms of economic growth, social inclusion, and environmental protection and ensure sustainable development in the African insurance sector.

He said “We are indeed grateful to our development partners, the Financial Sector Deepening Africa (FSD Africa), UK Aid and the United Nations Environmental Program for the invaluable support.

It would appear that the role of insurance has been somewhat relegated within the context of the SDGs. This is because the current indicators largely do not capture specific insurance related metrics. To be able to better assess the role of insurance and motivate the industry to contribute more to the SDGs, more consistent and disaggregated data collection is recommended.

It is, however, an acknowledged fact that the insurance industry performs a very critical role in promoting economic, social and environmental sustainability and can help countries achieve the UN SDGs.

The insurance industry helps protect society through risk prevention, risk reduction and risk sharing. The industry therefore plays an important role in nine (9) of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) namely: No Poverty, Reduced Inequalities, Zero Hunger, Good Health and Well-Being, Gender Equality, Decent Work and Economic Growth, Industry Innovation and Infrastructure, Climate Change, and Partnerships for Goals.

In addition, the insurance industry also plays an indirect and supporting role in five of the SDGs, namely: Quality Education, Industry Innovation and Infrastructure, Reduced Inequalities, and Partnerships for Goals and Sustainable Cities and Communities.
Therefore, the insurance sector holds the potential for enhancing sustainable development with the 2030 Agenda.

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues constitute a shared risk to insurers, businesses, governments and society. Some ESG issues such as, climate change, pollution and eco-system degradation, have various ramifications. Some of these issues are now considered as likely to be financially material to the success of organizations. There is therefore the compelling need for innovation and collaboration.

The four (4) Principles for Sustainable Insurance formalize the commitment of the signatories to ensuring decision-making along ESG criteria; raising awareness with clients and partners on ESG criteria; collaboration with governments and regulators to promote action on ESG criteria; and accountability and transparency of progress in ESG implementation. The corresponding list of possible actions provide a common anchor and framework for the insurance industry to manage ESG issues. This is expected to enhance the industry’s contribution to building resilient, inclusive and sustainable communities and economies.

On the regulatory side, the current environment is increasingly becoming complex. This has heightened the need to ensure effective supervision as well as resolve broader policy challenges such as inclusive economic development, sustainability, climate risk and digitalization. Insurance regulators, therefore, have a vital role to play in sustainable economic development.

Through regulatory and policy initiatives, regulators can guarantee that their insurance jurisdictions offer the essential range and variety of products and services that support the SDGs. Supervisors can also act as conveners of key stakeholders to building partnerships to coordinate insurance solutions, especially when faced with multifaceted risks such as climate change and pandemic risk.

Patoma Admin by — April 2, 2022 in Insurance 0
Pension fund assets hit N13.61 trn

By Favour Nnabugwu
The nation’s pension fund assets rose significantly by N183.8 trillion increase within a month, from N13.42trillion in December, 2021 to N13.61 trillion as at the end of January 2022.
The fund in January 2022 was N12.29 trn but dropped to N12.24 trn in February, following the drop in yield in the bonds market where the pension fund administrators have about 60 per cent of the pension fund invested.
In March 2021, the fund rose to N12.33 trillion, gaining N92 bn while it gained a further N58 bn in April to stay at N12.39 trillion even as it soared by N95 bn in May, 2021 to put the pension fund assets at N12.49 trn.
By June, the fund had grown to N12.65 trn, N165 bn in the process even as it recorded N123bn growth in July to stay at N12.78trn.
The pension fund assets rose to N12.90 trn in August, having gained N120 bn, while it pulled N101 bn gains in September, 2021 to stay at N13 trn.
The Director-General of PenCom, Mrs. Aisha Dahir-Umar, stated that the growth in the pension fund assets under the new pension scheme, was an indication of prudent and sincere management of the pension fund by the pension operators and the regulator.
According to her, “The maintenance of a consistent growth trajectory continues to justify the Commission’s overriding investment philosophy of ensuring the safety of pension fund assets”.
Patoma Admin by — April 2, 2022 in Pension 0