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NIMASA pushes for delisting of Nigeria from War Risk Insurance by Q3 2022

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

 

The Nigerian territorial waters, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, has begun moves to get country delisted from the War Risk Insurance, WRI, classification.

The classification allows vessels calling at the ports of affected countries to impose a high insurance premium citing high risk of piracy on the territorial waters.

The Director-General of NIMASA, Dr Bashir Jamoh, said that the agency has contacted the international insurance bodies over the continuous listing and collection of WRI from vessels calling at the Nigeria’s ports, despite the reduction in the level of piracy on the nation’s waters.

The NIMASA boss also disclosed that in the first half of this year, H1’22, there has not been any pirate attack on any vessel on the Nigerian territorial waters.

He stated: “Last month after we were removed from the red list of piracy, we are no longer the most dangerous waters to trade on in the whole world as it used to be. If you recall last year during World Maritime day, that was the first time I started raising alarm that there was a drastic reduction of piracy in Nigeria and we will not continue to pay the World Risk Insurance fee.

So what we need to do is for the insurance body to come up with the yardstick that makes Nigeria be on the red list to pay world risk insurance. We look into the criteria and why the judges have placed us at that level then; we will know where we did right and where we are wrong; for where we are right, they should use that as an avenue to judge us and reduce the cost because of the reduction in piracy.

“They claimed we have been on the list for more than 25 years and a short time cannot be a yardstick to remove the World Risk Insurance adding that we shouldn’t bring a few examples. We compiled our report and they told us last month that they have concluded their Executive Council meeting for the second quarter and by the third quarter in September they are going to consider other countries including Nigeria.

“They asked us to bring up our short, medium, and long term plans that will convince them we have permanent and sustainable reasons to maintain the yardstick of the drop in piracy so they can remove the World Risk Insurance. “This is why I said hopefully by the end of September this year, we should be able to rejoice and Nigeria can see a drastic reduction in terms of the freight rates we are paying.”

Patoma Admin by — July 14, 2022 in Insurance 0
ARC, ADB settled Madagascar with $797,049 for drought insurance

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

 

The African Risk Capacity Group and the African Development Bank have presented a cheque of  $797,049 to the Government of Madagascar as payout for the drought insurance taken by the country under the Africa Disaster Risk Financing Programme (ADRiFi).

The fund is supported by the Governments of the United Kingdom, through the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and Switzerland, through the Swiss Agency for Development and Corporation, and managed by the African Development Bank (AfDB)

According to the announcement, the ADRiFi programme financed 50% of the 2021-2022 insurance premium for sovereign drought risk transfer for the country.

Delayed rains during the 2021-2022 agricultural season resulted in drought conditions across Madagascar, particularly in the Grand South.

Presented by representatives from the African Risk Capacity Group (ARC) and the African Development Bank, the parametric insurance payout will be used to strengthen the resilience of part of the approximately 1,024,523 people affected by drought
This number was estimated by the Africa RiskView software, a tool used by ARC to estimate the number of people affected by disaster events and the associated response costs, according to the announcement.

The African Development Bank will provide financial support to the Government of Madagascar for the payment of its insurance premium over a period of five years (2019-2023) through the ADRiFi programme.

ARC and the Bank had previously signed a Memorandum of Understanding in March 2017 to support African states to manage disaster risks and to be better prepared to effectively respond to climate-related perils that seriously affect the continent.

Other countries, like Zambia, have also benefited from this initiative. Last month, the Zambian government received a parametric insurance payout of $5.3m via the ADRiFi programme and ARC.

In the case of Madagascar, this is the third insurance payout via the ADRiFi programme and ARC, according to Dr Beth Dunford, African Development Bank’s Vice President for Agriculture, Human and Social Development.

He added: “The combined total of more than $13.5m to boost the government’s ability to provide services that are keeping thousands of vulnerable people from food insecurity or migrating in search of food and work, demonstrates the Bank’s sustained commitment to building African nations’ resilience to climate change.”

Lesley Ndlovu, CEO of ARC Limited, the insurance affiliate of the ARC Agency, said: “Madagascar is, unfortunately, one of the African countries hardest hit by the impact of climate change.

“However, the government’s foresight to take out drought insurance meant that we were able to work together to develop a pre-emptive contingency plan, detailing how the payout would be used. The swift release of funds means the most-affected communities can now be assisted as a matter of urgency.”

Patoma Admin by — July 14, 2022 in Insurance 0
Global insurance premiums to exceed $7 trn in 2022, says Swiss Re

By admin
In nominal terms, global insurance premiums are poised to surpass USD 7 trillion for the very first time in 2022 on the back of 6.1percent growth, supported by solid employment, income growth, the hardening P&C market environment, and elevated risk awareness for mortality and health risks following the COVID-19 pandemic.
This is according to Swiss Re Institute’s latest world insurance sigma report, which forecasts robust global insurance market growth in both 2022 and 2023.
While in nominal terms Swiss Re expects total premium volumes to exceed USD 7 trillion by the end of this year, the reinsurer warns that “a sharply slowing global economy and a multi-decade-high inflation will weigh on total premium growth”, with an expected below-trend 1.2 percent annual growth in real terms over the next 24 months.
However, claims costs are on the rise and this is extending rate hardening, which in turn is improving underwriting profitability and underpinning premium growth in 2023, says Swiss Re. Interest rates are also on the rise, and over time, this will lead to higher investment returns, further supporting industry profitability.
Jerome Haegeli, Swiss Re’s Group Chief Economist, commented: “Even in the face of a challenging economic environment, insurance remains a vibrant, resilient and growing industry – and reaching the USD 7 trillion mark for global premiums is a major milestone. However, these are not easy times, and the insurance industry will need to keep a close eye on inflation.
“As the world gets more expensive, so do the costs of accidents and natural catastrophes – and this makes claims more expensive. However, there is a silver lining, as central banks take action to combat inflation, higher interest rates will support insurers’ profitability in the medium term.”
Nominal, global insurance market growth of 6.1percent would take total premium volumes 17 percent above the level seen at the onset of the COVID pandemic, which highlights the resilience of the risk transfer sector through the crisis.
By segment, Swiss Re expects to see stronger growth in non-life premiums, which are anticipated to expand by 7.1percent in nominal terms, in 2022, totalling USD 4.1 trillion globally. Once inflation is taken into consideration, Swiss Re forecasts growth of 0.8 percent for 2022. In 2023, the world’s largest reinsurer expects non-life premiums to expand by 2.2 percent in real terms, based mostly on continued rate hardening. The firm sees stronger growth in commercial lines than personal lines.
For life business, Swiss Re expects to see nominal growth of 4.8 percent in 2022, taking the total to USD 3.1 trillion for the year. However, in real terms, the firm expects total life premiums to contract by 0.2 percent this year, returning to growth in 2023. Swiss Re attributes growth next year to heightened risk awareness and demand for protection-type products post pandemic.
In terms of geographies, Swiss Re’s report finds that the U.S. remains the world’s largest insurance market, with total premium volumes of USD 2.7 trillion in 2021, a year in which premiums grew by 8.1 percent, in nominal terms.
China remains the second largest insurance market in the world with more than USD 700 billion in premium, which accounts for a significant 10.1 percent of total global insurance premiums.
In Europe, says Swiss Re, the UK and France produced strong nominal growth in 2021, with increases in total premiums of 16.7 percent and 24 percent respectively.
Patoma Admin by — July 13, 2022 in Insurance 0
Nigeria, Zambia add 2.4m climate policies to small farmers

By admin

 

Zambia and Nigeria insurers to add 2.4 million new climate policies for smallholder farmers.

Zambia and Nigeria insurers to add 2.4 million new climate policies for smallholder farmers

Underwriters in Zambia and Nigeria will add 2.4 million climate change insurance policies in the next three years, thanks to an International Finance Corporation (IFC)-backed programme.

The IFC has committed to inject US$1.94m to provide advisory services for the development of new climate insurance products and risk analytics, helping insurers in the two African countries to underwrite smallholder farmers profitably.

“The primary objective of this project is to improve the resilience of smallholder farmers by increasing their access to climate and other inclusive insurance products,” said the IFC.

Zambia and Nigeria will each be funded to the tune of $970,000 in a programme in which IFC said will also contribute towards increased access to insurance by women farmers.

The advisory programme will also help in scaling up the existing climate change insurance products and strengthen the insurers’ business development and underwriting capacity.

IFC disclosures further show that the inclusive climate insurance programme will help enhance insurance regulators’ supervisory capacity.

Many underwriters in the African continent including those in east and west Africa are signing up to sustainable insurance agenda but high loss ratios in the emerging insurance classes such as animal and crop insurance have seen a good number of players steer off this kind of polices.

The IFC programme hopes to turn this around by helping insurers to establish “more diverse, efficient and sustainable insurance product distribution channels and insurance processes”.

By the end of the programme in June 2025, Zambia underwriters are expected to have issued at least 1.5 million new inclusive climate insurance policies to smallholder farmers, generating premium volume of at least $4m.

In Nigeria, IFC targets to have helped the insurers issue at least 900,000 new such policies, generating total premium volume of at least $3m.

In addition, underwriters in these two markets are expected to have launched at least two new financial or insurance products and established at least one new partnership with a bank, agribusiness or any other entity.

Such partnerships between insurers and banks or agribusinesses, IFC sayid will help underwriters in “bundling of insurance solutions with credit and other products”.

Regional reinsurer Zep-Re has success stories from countries such as Zambia through the Farmer Input Support Program.

Zep-Re CEO Hope Murera, who led the reinsurer in acquiring a stake in Agricultural and Climate Risk Enterprise (Acre) Africa, said their experience in Zambia confirmed that bundling agricultural insurance with other products can help accelerate the uptake of crop and livestock cover.

“We have seen that when we do bundling (of agricultural insurance) with seeds and fertiliser, with government support, then we are able to cover more. We have had success stories in places like Zambia,” says Ms Murera.

At the heart of the IFC programmes in Zambia and Nigeria will be such partnerships and the sharing of lessons learnt from other parts of the world.

Partnerships are seen as a quicker path in growing insurance penetration levels at a lower cost given that many insurers are running on lean budgets, with the situation having been exacerbated by Covid-19 disruptions.

Zambia and Nigeria insurers participating in the IFC programme will produce online and other publications on lessons learnt, thought leadership on best practices in climate change insurance, research on emerging technologies and impact stories.

“It will also involve the organisation of exchanges, for example south-south exchanges between IFC partners in Asia and Africa, exchanges between insurance practitioners from different African countries and exchanges with other international organisations and donor-funded programmes,” said the IFC.

IFC rolled out in February 2022 a similar programme in Zimbabwe, where agriculture employs about two thirds of the working population, yet there were no insurance products to protect smallholder farmers.

The IFC, through the global index insurance facility (GIIF), has supported the growth of agriculture and climate insurance in markets such as Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Mozambique and Senegal.

IFC’s programme is particularly important to Nigeria, with the Climate Action Digest Report ranking the west African country as the 55th most vulnerable country to climate change and 22nd least ready.

The report projected that climate change would cost Nigeria six to 30% of its GDP by 2050, translating to $100bn to $460bn in losses and a big dent to the agricultural sector.

Farmers in northern Nigeria lost more than two million tonnes of rice to flooding in September 2020 as the heavier than expected rainfall hit smallholder farmers.

Nigeria in 1987 set up the Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Scheme as a state-owned insurance company but has not been able to reach many smallholder farmers.

Between 2015 and 2020, the scheme had captured about 1.28 million farmers and paid out claims totalling $971,000.

Insurers have been partnering with governments in their respective countries including Kenya, Nigeria, Zambia and Senegal to absorb part of the risks involved in crop and animal insurance to make such covers affordable.

Overall, the penetration of risk management solutions in agriculture in Africa remains low despite the sector’s high vulnerability to the impacts of climate change and market inefficiencies.

Smallholder farmers in Africa are usually spread out in wide areas, leading to high distribution costs and therefore translating to higher premiums without partnerships with government.

The insurance industry has struggled to profit from traditional insurance such as motor and medical, leaving them wary of trying out emerging risks.

In Kenya for instance, all general insurers are licensed to underwrite agriculture but only 10 out of the more than 50 companies had rolled out such covers by end of 2020.

The low uptake of agricultural covers means majority of farmers remain vulnerable to natural disasters such as floods and drought, leading to social and economic challenges.

Climate change has worsened weather-related risks such as droughts, pests and diseases and therefore exposing farmers to losses.

But lack of efficient data to develop viable insurance indexes and determine the premium price of indexed insurance products for small-scale farmers has seen many underwriters shy away from developing innovative insurance products for farmers.

Patoma Admin by — July 12, 2022 in Insurance 0
Allianz Nigeria vows to drive insurance through innovation

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

Allianz Nigeria has vowed to drive insurance growth in Nigeria through innovative products, professional expertise and excellent service delivery

The Managing Director, Adeolu Adewumi-Zer, reassured members of the National Association of Insurance and Pension Correspondents (NAIPCO) on the activities of the company during their 2022 Annual General Meeting in Lagos.

Adeolu said Allianz Nigeria is well positioned for profitability and growth, adding that the company is here to stay in order to expand the frontiers of insurance in Nigeria and Africa at large.

She said Allianz with their long years of experience and expertise in technical matters in insurance, has what it takes to make a difference in Nigeria and Africa.

“We have the expertise, we have the experience, we have the technology and we have the right quality and quantity of manpower to make a difference” she stated.

She said the company is fully recapitalized to the tune of N18 billion as required by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM).

The MD/CEO said Allianz is a forward looking company, adding that their strategic objective is to ‘secure your future.’

“We are here to stay to drive insurance growth in Nigeria and in extension, Africa. Our strategic objective is to secure the future of our customers, the future of our employees, the future of our stakeholders and the future of the people in our communities”.

She further said, “There are a lot of opportunities in Africa and the future of insurance business is here in Africa. One thing that I want you to know is that the future is Africa. So if the future is Africa, the future is Nigeria. So you cannot have a strategy for Africa, if you do not take Nigeria seriously.”

She said one of their strategies is to be a preferred insurer in Nigeria, Africa and globally in line with their recent joint venture collaboration with Sanlam.

‘’Because we know how important it is to have a partner with stamina at your side who prepares you with solid and sustainable solutions, we strive to do it right with passion and persistence.

“Allianz and Sanlam have agreed to combine their current and future operations across Africa to create the largest Pan-African non-banking financial services entity on the continent”

“The joint venture allows Allianz to accelerate its growth by meaningfully expanding the local reach and market penetration while establishing leading positions in key growth markets. Allianz and Sanlam will leverage each other’s strengths to unlock synergies and provide clients with best-in-class, innovative insurance solutions and technical excellence, improving value creation for all their stakeholders.”

She said the Joint venture will enhance their capacity and capabilities to build scale where it matters now and, in the future, with a joint approach to geographical expansion aimed at achieving a leading position in Life and General Insurance in high priority markets on the continent.

The joint venture, she said, is part of their plans to outperform the market by combining Allianz global expertise and capabilities and Sanlam deep local knowledge to provide clients best in class, innovative insurance solutions and technical excellence, leveraging broad insurance expertise and capabilities.

Patoma Admin by — July 11, 2022 in Insurance 0
Africa Re, Gallagher Re team-up to protect countries against climate, crisis, disaster

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

 

Africa Reinsurance Corporation, Africa Re and the leading pan-African reinsurance company,  Gallagher Re, the global reinsurance broking and advisory firm are joining forces to strengthen the financial resilience of African countries against a broad range of climate, crisis and disaster risks.

Named “Accelerating action through scalable risk transfer schemes”, the initiative is offering a robust, replicable, and modular framework to address a wide range of threats and to protect both assets and liabilities. Consisting of a comprehensive toolkit of innovative analytics, regulatory and policy advice, and financial optimisation services, it brings together public and private sectors to deliver customised, at-scale financial resilience solutions across Africa.

The support is highly customised to countries’ needs and priorities. It will focus on existing resources and domestic capacity, complemented where most relevant with third-party capital. Solutions developed would include risk transfer solutions to financing emergency response costs in the aftermath of a crisis, national insurance schemes for agriculture and crop, as well as weather derivatives and parametric products for public infrastructure, energy or tourism sectors.

Regional drought conditions and the global political environment (Africa is heavily relying on wheat imports from Russia and Ukraine) require prompt action and at-scale implementation plans. In this context, the partnership between Africa Re and Gallagher Re’s Public Sector & Climate Resilience Solutions global practice is an important stepping-stone towards sustainable economic growth and better-protected livelihoods on the continent.

These plans will be presented during a high-level event on 26 July 2022 in Cairo, Egypt, on the side of Africa Re’s General Assembly. Titled ‘Private-Public Catastrophe Risk Transfer Schemes: Bringing Resilience to Scale’, the conference will bring together Africa Re’s shareholders from 42 African member states and financial institutions, to explore and discuss the countries’ priorities and implementation options.

Dr Corneille Karekezi, Group MD & CEO of Africa Re, said, “Africa is already bearing the brunt of climate change – and the threat of global, interconnected shocks further jeopardises hard-won development gains and livelihoods on the continent. In line with our 2022-2025 strategy, this ambitious initiative aims to leverage private-sector and government expertise and capabilities for improved resilience and financial protection. It will also contribute to re-positioning Africa Re as the risk transformer of the African continent’s systemic risks.”

Mr Antoine Bavandi, global head of Public Sector, Parametric & Climate Resilience Solutions at Gallagher Re, added, “We will be putting to work our expertise in various domains to come up with the most practical and cost-efficient solutions to various risks, exposures, and country contexts. We look forward to laying out together the various building blocks of societal and financial resilience against drought, food insecurity and emerging risks in Africa with a deep sense of urgency.”

Ms Natalie Van de Coolwijk, regional director, Middle East & Africa at Gallagher Re, said, “ It is important that this project is designed and driven by Africans for Africans, hence why Africa Re is central to its success. They not only have a vested social interest, but also a fundamental understanding of the challenges facing the continent and its citizens.”

Patoma Admin by — July 11, 2022 in Insurance 0
Edwin Igbiti to become CIIN 51st president

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

 

The Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN) is set to inaugurate Mr.Edwin Igbiti as the 51st President/Chairman of Council of the Institute after the successful completion of Sir (Dr.) Muftau O. Oyegunle two years tenure at the helm affairs.

The investiture ceremony which is scheduled  on Friday, July 152022, will bring Mr. Edwin Igbiti on board as the 51st President/Chairman of Council of the premier professional body in the country.

Mr. Edwin Igbiti is one of Nigeria’s most prominent business executives.With an outstanding educational background and many years of professional experience, he has written his name in the sands of history as one of the strongest and renowned voices in the Insurance Industry and the corporate business environment in Nigeria.

Edwin showed much interest in the insurance business from a very early age and little wonder that he became an Associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute of London in 1990. In his quest for knowledge, he obtained an Advanced Diploma in Management from the Department of Business Administration, University of Lagos in 1996 and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA)from the University of Ado Ekiti, in 2005.

Similarly, the astute insurer has garnered outstanding professional certifications both within and outside Nigeria such as Executive Leadership Programme of Howard University School of Business and Chief Executive and Directors Programme from the Management School in London.

Mr. Igbiti is a Certifed Insurance practitioner with the Chartered Insurance Institute of London (CII), a Fellow of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (FIIN), a Fellow of the Risk Managers Society of Nigeria (RIMSON), Associate of the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB)and a Fellow of the Risk Surveyors Association of Nigeria (RISAN).

He is a seasoned professional with depth and wealth of technical expertise having worked in various capacities, including underwriting, sales and claims management in the insurance industry.

He started his professional sojourn at Phoenix Insurance Company as an Underwriting Trainee before moving to AIICO Insurance Plc where he worked for several years and provided managerial, strategic and CIIN operational leadership in uniquely challenging situations with verifable evidence of achieving revenue, profit and business growth objectives.

He served as the General Manager, Non-Life Underwriting at AIICO Insurance Plc between January 2010 to September 2013. During this period, he was responsible for the overall performance of the General Insurance Division. He rose to the position of the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive O$icer, AIICO Insurance Plc in Year 2013 where he was responsible for running and supervising the affairs of the Company and its subsidiaries (AIICO Pension, AIICO Capital and AIICO Multishield).

In the years he served as the GMD of AIICO, he recorded giant strides which contributed hugely to the company’s overall growth.Mr. Igbiti also served brie@y as the Managing Director of Niger Insurance Plc before moving to Quicklink Insurance Brokers Limited as a top management staff where he is active till date.

Aside from being an insurance professional, Edwin is a chartered member of the Nigerian Institute of Management, a certifed Business Continuity Systems Lead Auditor from the British Institute, UK and an alumnus of the Howard University Business School, U.S.A. He is a Member of the Institute of Directors (IoD), and was once a Council member of the Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA).

He is the immediate past Chairman of the Governing Board of the College of Insurance and Financial Management and he currently seats as the Deputy President on the Governing Council of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN) where he has meteorically risen to the 51st President of the Institute.

Mr. Igbiti is a devoted Christian and actively involved in the service of the Lord. He has a Diploma in Theology from the Redeemed Christian Church of God Bible College. He is happily married to Mrs Funmilayo Igbiti and blessed with children.

Patoma Admin by — July 9, 2022 in Insurance 0
BPE justifies sacks of Discos owners, says performance was abysmal

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

The Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) has justified the decision to restructure the ownership of four electricity distribution companies, DisCos, saying the performance of the sacked owners was abysmal.

The Director General of BPE, Mr. Alex Okoh in a statement in Abuja reacting to opposition of the takeover  by sacked owners of Benin, Kano, Kaduna and Ibadan DisCos, said the utilities were the worst performing in the market.

Okoh singled out Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company, IBEDC for particular mention, stating that the company’s performance was worse under the management of the sacked owners than pre-privatisation in 2013.

He insisted that restructuring was temporary as the government expects the commercial banks who now manage the companies to sell them to new investors soon, as they had neither the licence nor capacity to manage electricity companies.

Recall that three days ago the companies’ owners were sacked by the government after lender, Fidelity Bank called in their loans.

But the owners has resisted calling the takeover illegal. But BPE said the decision was commercial and contractual.

According to the agency, “It is envisaged that the majority interest in these DISCOs would be sold to competent private sector investors with the requisite technical and financial capacity to re-capitalize and manage these entities efficiently.

“As an interim measure, NERC and BPE met on an Emergency Basis and activated the Business Continuity Process and appointed interim Managing Directors in the affected DISCOs as follows:

Kano DISCO – Ahmad Dangana
Benin DISCO – Henry Ajagbawa
Kaduna DISCO – Yusuf Usman Yahaya

“It must be reiterated that some of the publications from the Core Investors of these DISCOs have been quite disingenuous. Beyond the financial issues I have just discussed, the DISCOs affected happen to be the worst performing ones.

“Ibadan is currently being managed by a so-called Receiver Manager as a sole administration. The Receiver Manager has absolutely no capacity to manage a utility and has not been authorised by the Regulator as a manager of a DISCO.

“Ibadan is the worst performing DISCO as per the Performance Assessment  review conducted in December 2021. Ibadan DISCO has actually retrogressed in terms of their critical performance parameters as contracted in the Performance Agreement signed with the Bureau. In fact, the DISCO under the management of the Core Investor, Integrated Energy Distribution and Marketing Limited (IEDM), has performed worse than before it was privatized.

“The performance of Benin, Port Harcourt, Kano and Kaduna DISCOs have also been abysmal.

“It is necessary to state categorically that the poor performance of these DISCOs represents a clear and present threat to the power sector as a whole and no responsible government and shareholder, would stand idly by and allow this situation to persist.

“BPE wishes to assure Nigerians that notwithstanding the challenges in the sector, Government remains fully committed to ensuring optimal performance in the power sector and will not shy away from taking the necessary decisive action to achieve this”, it added.

Mr. Okoh explained that the government took action of the BPE and NERC were informed by Fidelity Bank Plc on Tuesday, 5th July, 2022, that a call on the collateralized shares of the Core Investors of Kano, Benin and Kaduna DISCOs had been activated by the lenders. The Lenders’ consortium include AFREXIM Bank, Keystone Bank, Stanbic IBTC, as well as Fidelity Bank.

“It is important to note that the action is a contractual and commercial intervention and is between the Core Investors in these DISCOs and the lenders. BPE’s involvement is to protect the 40% shareholding of the Federal Government in the DISCOs.

“It was on this basis that new boards reflecting this action were constituted as follows:

Kano DISCO: Hasan Tukur (Chairman), Nelson Ahaneku (Member), Engr. Rabiu Suleiman (Member) Benin DISCO: KC Akuma (Chairman), Adeola Ijose (Member), Charles Onwera (Member) Kaduna DISCO: Abbas Jega (Chairman), Ameenu Abubakar (Member), Marlene Ngoyi (Member)

“BPE has nominated Bashir Gwandu (Kano DISCO), Yomi Adeyemi (Benin DISCO), and Umar Abdullahi (Kaduna DISCO) as independent Directors to represent Government’s 40% interest in the aforementioned DISCOs, during this transition”, he stated

Patoma Admin by — July 8, 2022 in Banking & Finance 0
NEPZA secures $100m investment in Lekki Medical/Pharms Special FZ

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

The Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) has secured an anchor tenant, Ash Biomedical Diagnostics Limited has invested initial $100 million capital in the production of variety of medical equipment in the freshly approved Medical/Pharmaceutical Special Free Zone in Lekki, Lagos.

In a statement released by Martins Odeh, the Head Corporate Communication of NEPZA, stated that  Prof. Adesoji Adesugba, NEPZA Managing Director, dropped the hint on Thursday after a meeting with the company’s team led by its Managing Director/CEO, Mr Ade Shodeinde in Abuja.

Adesugba said that the breakthrough hinged on the Authority’s relentless investment campaigns and drives across targeted investment potentials within and outside of the country.

The managing director explained that the company had scaled through series of tests and financial evaluations aimed at determining its capacity to carry out the expected tasks.

The NEPZA boss said that Ash Biomedical Diagnostics Limited had a solid investment capital base, adding, also, that the Authority became more convinced with the company’s capacity to deliver on the expectations after being exposed to its famous and worldclass foreign partners.
“Today can only be described as a turning point in our pursuit to bring in world class medical enterprises to the Lekki medical free zone.

“Recall that we announced in March 21 that scores of prospective anchor tenants came to us seeking to establish world class hospitals and pharmaceutical industries in the Lekki medical special free zone with the aim to end the unnecessary medical tourism abroad.

“Let me reiterate that we are indeed opened to bringing into the zone world class pharmaceutical companies to serve not only Nigeria, but Africa and the rest of the world from Lekki. The prospects of the zone are unimaginable and we are glad for securing an anchor tenant that will immediately open up the place for operation,’’ Adesugba said.

Adesugba further said that the Authority was still prepared to relax perceived stringent rules to ensure the comfort of anchor tenants, adding that the future gains that could accrue to investors who dared to first explore the zone usually would out-weigh the initial challenges.

The Lekki medical special free zone remains a business hot-spot with opportunities for other business chains ranging from transport/logistics, electricity, estate development, tourism/hospitality among others.

The NEPZA chief executive officer further explained that investors should prospect similar zones in Katsina and Ilorin, adding that the Federal Government expected the sub-nationals to leverage on all free zone types to fast track the nation’s industrialisation.

In another development, the Authority has agreed to midwife the forthcoming Nigeria (Kano) and Chinese Business Forum aimed at bridging investment exchanges between Nigeria and China.

Adesugba said this when he played host to Mr Wu Bai Cai, Directory Officer from the Chinese Embassy in Abuja.

The NEPZA chief executive officer explained that it was about time Nigeria and China stepped up their economic relations to a more sophisticated height, adding that NEPZA was assiduously working hard to use the free trade zone to ignite development as done by China.

Bao-Cai expressed delight in the meeting, adding that China had not hidden its interest in using its wealth, technology and human capital to assist in the development of the African continent.

He said, the forthcoming forum would be a platform where all areas of investment needs of the country should be evaluated for possible exploration.

“We have many Chinese businesses seeking to set up in Nigeria from where they can serve the rest of the world. Nigeria will become a hub for many Chinese manufacturing companies. For instance, we are looking for avenues to start the manufacturing of electric cars in Nigeria among others

The Kano State Government and Hon. Adamu Fanda, Chairman NEPZA Board are among the long list of the facilitators of the forthcoming forum

Patoma Admin by — July 8, 2022 in Industry, Trade & Investment 0
NAIPCO new executives takes over, Nkechi Naeche-Esezobor now Chairman

By Favour Nnabugwu
The National Association of Insurance and Pension Correspondents (NAIPCO) has elected new executive officers to manage the affairs of the association in the next two year as Nkechi Naeche-Esezobor, Publisher/Editor-in-Chief Business Today is now the new Chairman.
NAIPCO is the umbrella body for journalists covering insurance and pension sectors in Nigeria.
Other officers include:  Ngozi Onyeakusi, Publisher/Editor-in-Chief, Super News Online (Vice Chairman); Rosemary Iwunze, Insurance/Pension Editor, Vanguard Newspaper (General Secretary).
Others are Edet Udoh, Publisher/Editor-in-Chief, The Revealer Online (Assistant General Secretary); Matthew Otoijagha, Publisher/Editor-in-Chief, Business Wrap Online (Financial Secretary); Amaka Obiefuna, Publisher/Editor-in-Chief, News Corner Online (Public Relations Officer) and Adejoke Adeyemi, Insurance and Pension Editor, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) as (Treasurer).
Speaking on behalf of the new executives, the Chairman, Nkechi Naeche-Esezobor thanked the members for the opportunity given to them to serve even as she promised all-inclusive leadership that will foster unity amongst members.
While thanking the outgoing executives for their sterling performance, she promised to build on the existing legacies and foundation laid by past leaders of the association.
She said her administration will focus on those activities and programs that are of significant importance to the welfare of members just as she solicited the cooperation and support of all members.
The formal handing-over from the immediate past executives to the new executives took place after the association’s 2022 Annual General Meeting in Lagos, yesterday.
Speaking before the formal handling over, the outgone Chairman, Chuks Udo Okonta, thanked his team and members for their cooperation which he said served as a catalyst for the success recorded during his tenure and charged the incoming administration to surpass the limit.
The formal inauguration of the new executives is slated for August 2022.
Patoma Admin by — July 8, 2022 in Insurance 0