The Nation Newspaper

Category: Pension

  • Pension delay dangerous

    It is one year, two months since retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) have received their pension benefits. Omobola Tolu-Kusimo reports that a plan by President Muhammadu Buhari to pay the backlog of N62.83 billion accrued rights in three years is causing an uproar among retirees, others.

    They looked forward to a blissful rest after donkey years of serving their fatherland. That was not to be because 14 months after their retirement, Federal Government retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) have not been paid their pensions.

    The pensioners have blamed the Federal Government for the undue delay. Specificallly, they criticised President Muhammadu Buhari for not considering pension as a priority and condemned a plan by the government to pay the backlog of N62.83billion accrued rights in a three-year phase.

    The President had in August, this year, directed the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, to appropriate and release N62.83 billion to clear backlog of accrued pension rights of retirees in the next three years.

    Observers and pensioners faulted the plan, noting that by the end of the three-year plan, retirement benefits of federal employees who would be retiring would still be outstanding.

    An expert, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, said the President was violating the Pension Reform Law, the Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2014 which repealed PRA 2004. The tradition, since the pension reform in 2004, which established the CPS, is that retirees receive their pension at least a month after retirement.

    Section 39 (2) of the Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2014 mandates the Federal Government to pay into the Retirement Benefits Bond Redemption Fund Account an amount not less than five per cent of the total monthly wage bill payable to employees in the Public Service of the Federation towards the redemption of the accrued pension right of federal retirees.

    The Nation learnt that in the last five years, budgetary funding and releases of pensions had not been regular and adequate for the payment of outstanding accrued pension rights over this period as a result of decline in government revenue.

    Consequently, since 2017, the Federal Government has been releasing funds for paying the accrued rights in piecemeal, as against amounts requested by PenCom. The shortfall has been responsible for the accumulation of several months of unpaid accrued pension rights, that has led to about 15 months of unpaid pensions.

     

    Objectives of the CPS

    “The scheme introduced by the 2004 pension reform is contributory, fully funded, managed and kept in custody by private operators and is based on individual portable accounts. The key objectives of the scheme are to ensure that every person who has worked in either the public or private sector receives his or her retirement benefits as and when due; to assist improvident individuals by ensuring that they save to cater for their livelihood during old age; to establish a uniform set of rules and regulations for the administration and payment of retirement benefits in both the public and private sectors; to stem the growth of outstanding pension liabilities; and to reduce fiscal cost to Government, stimulate domestic savings, generate a pool of long-term funds for developmental projects and increase private investments.

    Giving background information on the pension reform in Nigeria, and specifically, the level of implementation of the PRA 2014 by the National Pension Commission (PenCom) since the commencement of the reform in 2004, the Acting Director-General, Mrs. Aisha Dahir-Umar, said the pension reform was necessitated by the many problems bedeviling the public and private sectors’ pension schemes.

    “In the public sector, the Defined Benefits Scheme was faced with the problem of huge pension liabilities arising from lack of adequate and timely budgetary provisions as well as increases in salaries and pensions. Pension administration was largely weak, inefficient, less transparent, cumbersome and marred with corrupt practices. Many private sector organisations did not have any pension arrangement for their employees and where it existed, it was characterised by very low compliance ratio due to lack of effective regulation and supervision of the system.

    “After a thorough consideration and detailed evaluation of these issues, the Federal Government decided to take measures aimed at developing a system that is sustainable and has the capacity to achieve the ultimate goal of providing a stable, predictable and adequate source of retirement income for employees in both the public and private sectors in Nigeria.This culminated in the enactment of the Pension Reform Act 2004 (PRA 2004), which introduced a mandatory CPS for employees of the Federal Government, the Federal Capital Territory and the private sector organisations with five or more employees. The Act also established, for the first time in Nigeria, a regulator and supervisor of pension matters, the National Pension Commission (PenCom).

    “The PRA 2004 was subsequently repealed and replaced in 2014 by the Pension Reform Act 2014 (PRA 2014), which, among other things, enhanced the benefits accruable to the contributor upon retirement,  enhanced the protection of pension fund assets, unlocked the opportunities for the deployment of pension assets for national development, reviewed the sanctions regime to reflect current realities, provided for the participation of the informal sector and also expanded the coverage of the CPS to include employees of States and Local Governments.”

    Experts said these objectives which was significantly achieved in the first ten years of the reform, took a downward trend when the backlogs commenced in 2017, following recession that occurred in the country.

    They opined that the Federal Government should priotise pension and put the payment on first line charge.

     

    Retirees/observers react

    A pensioner, who gave his name as Adesina, said the action of the President is against the objective of the PRA 2014.

    He said: “The President is violating the law. The objective of the PRA 2014 is for a retiree to be paid immediately after he retires and stops receiving salary. President Buhari has shown that he is insensitive to their plight and this is very awful.

    “My pension should be paid to me immediately, considering that I no longer receive salary.”

    Another retiree, Mrs. Zainab Usman, lamented that since she retired a year ago, her family had been suffering due to the non-payment of pension.

    She said the President was encouraging corruption as against his fight against corruption.

    She said: “How can President Buhari abandon us and be planning to pay us over a period of three years. It is the same President who said we should shun corruption in public service. But he is the same person who has left on us to go hungry.’’

    A senior official in one of the Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) said the operators had been inundated with complaints from retirees.

    He said it was sad that the retirees who were employees of the Federal Government were the ones affected, adding that the private sector employers were paying pension.

    He wondered why the Federal Government would be planning a three-year payment plan instead of three months.

    He lamented that they were planning to pay pensioners who retired in August, last year next month.

    “Before now, there has been no delay in pension payment under the scheme. The maximum delay lasted for one month. Unfortunately, since 2017, retirees are not paid several months after they retiree. The President is no longer treating pension payment as a first-line charge as done by previous governments. It The instruction by the President to the Ministry of Finance is not good enough. How can he ask the Ministry to have a payment plan of three years instead of two months? If he is planning to pay those who retired in more than a year ago in the next three years, it means he doesn’t have plans for those that are retiring next year and beyond.

    “It is quite understandable that the problem started during the 2016 recession, but the economy has since recovered. We are now talking of minimum wage increase and the legislators want to buy N500 billion worth of vehicles. One would expect that the Federal Government will priotise pension and put its payment on first line charge. The amount due for payment is always known by PenCom a year before the retirees are due to retire and the commission submit same to the Presidency and the ministry for it to be budgeted for. Despite this, the Federal Government has failed to follow through a seamless payment pattern which have been causing problem for the PFAs and the industry as a whole.

    “Unfortunately, retirees take their anger  on us as the PFAs. They confront and create scenes that the PFAs are holding back their money. I just received a call by a next-of-kin that his father, a retiree, has just died because he did not have money to buy drugs. He accused us of killing his father. For us, this is very sad. We are not happy that his father had to die that way and not happy that we are accused of what we did not do. The President is fighting corruption but, on the other hand, aiding corruption. Because people are questioning why they should not have stolen or diverted money while in office when they will not have anything to fall back on after retirement. People have bills to pay and you say they should not steal,” he added.

  • NIN impedes micro pension sales

    The National Identification Number (NIN) is a major requirement for validating identities for business and services, including pension. Omobola Tolu-Kusimo, reports that the requirement has slowed the take-off of the micro pension plan

    The Federal Government’s plan to use the Number (NIN) for validating citizenship is affecting the new Micro Pension Plan (MPP).

    The Nation gathered that sale of the product is being hindered by lack of NIN by many Nigerians, especially those working in the informal sector, who are targets of the MPP.

    NIN, along with Bank Verification Numbers (BVN),  is a major requirement by the National Pension Commission before a Pension Fund Administrator can register a prospective customer for the micro pension plan.

    While many interested persons are able to produce BVN, few are unable to do so with the NIN card.

    The Federal Government had mandated every Nigerian to have a NIN card. It aims to use it to tie all records about an individual in the database and use it to establish or verify his or her identity. All citizens and legal residents in the country, from birth and above, are eligible for enrolment.

    Many Nigerians are yet to have NIN due to the few centres provided by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) for registration, among other challenges. They have lamented the delays in the registration for the NIN and obtaining the card.

    Micro Pension, on the other hand, is an initiative of the Federal Government, through PenCom, to capture workers under the informal sector, such as artisans, actors and actresses, engineers, lawyers and other self-employed persons.

    PenCom Acting Director General Mrs Aisha Dahir-Umar said the commission estimates capturing 30 million people in the informal sector.

    She stated that the MPP is expected to mobilise about N3 trillion savings into the over N9.4 trillion pension assets in the country.

    Since the launch of the MPP by President Muhammadu Buhari in March, this year, PenCom and PFAs have embarked on campaigns to sell the products. Unfortunately, the sales of the product have been low because majority of the people do not have NIN.

    PFAs have, however, lamented the difficulties in registrating for  NIN and obtaining the card by NIMC.

    National Identity Management Agency Director-General Aliyu Aziz said so far, they have about 1,000 centres nationwide with enrolment hitting about 36 million persons.

    He said: “We have about 1,000 centres nationwide and have enrolled about 36 million persons. But that number is small, compared to the overall population, and the number of centres we have is also small. The standard is that for every 50,000 people, we need a centre. So, if we are approximately 200 million, it means that we need, at least, 4,000 centres to be optimal. But for the size of the country and the demand, we need up to 10,000 centres and the plan is to achieve that.

    “To cover the shortfall, we have come up with a sustainable programme nicknamed, Ecosystem; that is, to work with other government agencies and the private sector that are collecting data to send to the NIMC and the commission will pay them per successful enrolment.

    ‘’We have done a lot of preparation for this activity. Therefore, the number of enrolment centres will increase and there will be a motivation to carry out the enrolment because they will be paid. We believe that the ecosystem approach will solve the problem.

    “The focus before was on the card but we have learnt from the United States, the United Kingdom and India that the focus should be on the national identification number. Therefore, we have gone back to the foundation and that is why the number grew to 36 million. So, our law says that we should also issue a general multipurpose card and that the first issuance should be free; that was in 2012. But because of the economic situation, we were unable to issue 36 million cards free. So, the focus is to emphasise on the number and allow the government agencies to accept the number and issue services. So far, the banks, Nigeria Immigration Service, Federal Road Safety Corps, National Pension Commission and others accept the NIN to give you service and, therefore, reduce the pressure from the demand for the card.’’

    PenCom spokeperson, Mr Peter Aghahowa in a telephone conversation with The Nation said the commission is working to hasten the progress of the MPP.

    He confirmed that NIN has slowed down registration for the MPP.

    He disclosed that the commission is partnering NIMC to register people who want for micro pension.

    “The micro pension take-off has not been as fast as we want it but people are enrolling. It is a fact that NIN has affected it but we prefer to do it right. PenCom is having an arrangement with NIMC that will aid people to get NIN by collecting information and passing them to NIMC who then gives us the NIN number,” he added.

  • Stanbic IBTC Pension to sponsor Art X Lagos

    Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers Limited (SIPML), a subsidiary of Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC, has announced its plan to sponsor this year’s Art X Lagos.

    SIPML is sponsoring Art X Modern, a new section dedicated to celebrating pioneers of African modern art from the 20th century.

    Art X Modern will comprise three galleries: Bloom Art and Mydrim Gallery, which are Nigerian, and Gallery 1957 from Ghana. It will feature Uche Okeke and Obiora Udechukwu as well as Prof. Ablade Glover from Ghana, among others.

    SIPML will host a public talk.

    Stanbic IBTC Pensions Chief Executive Mr. Eric Fajemisin said the company is committed to promoting the art sector.

    He said: “Our interest in promoting arts is hinged on the belief that creativity and intellect can serve as sources of livelihood for individuals who decide to make a career out of their passion for painting and drawing. In other climes, art is cherished, and patrons sometimes pay a fortune for works of art that are considered collectors’ items. We want to promote a culture which ensures that artists are appreciated for their ingenuity and adequately rewarded with the premium and royalties that their works attract.”

    Fajemisin added that the company decided to host the Art X Modern section to ensure that artists get the recognition due them during their lifetime.

    “Being Nigeria’s largest pensions manager, we have the responsibility to ensure that our customers retire well, so that they have something to fall back on post work-life.

    We are also promoting that principle which holds that those who contribute actively to enriching lives and enhancing our creative industry get their due, even after leaving active work life.”

    This year’s edition of Art X Lagos will hold at Federal Palace Hotel from Friday, November 1 to Sunday, November 3, 2019. This year’s Art Festival will feature 23 gallery booths including Nigerian gallery exhibitors such as: The Space, Bloom Art, Nike Art Gallery, Retro Africa and SMO Contemporary, among others.

    The roll call of artists who will showcase their art includes: Abe Odedina (Nigeria / UK / Brazil), Soly Cissé (Senegal), Sam Nhlengethwa (South Africa), Tizta Berhanu (Ethiopia), Peju Alatise (Nigeria) and Lady Skollie (South Africa).

    ART X Lagos is West Africa’s first international art fair, designed to showcase intriguing and innovative contemporary art from the African continent and diaspora.

     

     

  • FAQ on Defined Benefits Scheme

    What is a Letter of Administration?

    Letters of Administration are usually granted by a probate registry of a High Court to appoint appropriate person(s) or institution to administer the estate of a deceased person in line with extant applicable laws and regulations such as the Administration of Estate Laws, 2005.

    • What are the features of Letters of Administration?

    In line with the provisions of the Administration of Estate Law, 2005, a valid Letter of Administration must contain the following features: Name of the Court (High Court), Name of deceased; Date; Place of Death; Names and addresses of the beneficiaries; Value of property; and Seal of the Court.

    • Which of the courts is saddled with issuing Letters of Administration?

    The High Court of a state or the FCT High Court.

    • What is the difference between Letters of Administration and Enrollment of Order?

    An Enrolment of Order is a summary of the judgment of a Court for enforcement, while Letters of Administration are granted by a probate registry of the High Court to appoint appropriate person(s) or institution(s) that would administer the estate of the deceased.

    • What is the importance of a seal in a Letter of Administration? Can Letters of Administration be authentic without it?

    Red seal or the seal of the court must be affixed to a Letter of Administration to authenticate the document. A letter of Administration without a seal is invalid.

  • Lagos retirees get N1.5b pension

    Public service retirees in Lagos State under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) have received N1.55 billion pension.

    In a statement, Lagos State Pension Commission (LASPEC) Director-General Mrs Folashade Onanuga said 287retirees were presented their retirement bond during the  67th Retirement Bond Presentation in Lagos.

    She said Governor Babajide Sanwoolu has continued to rise to the challenge of paying pension benefits promptly.

    According to her, the governor is committed to ensuring that the state  retirees did not labour in vain.

    She added that the government had been funding the accrued pension rights without which retirees would not be able to have access to the balance in their Retirees Savings Account (RSA).

    She implored the retirees to go for regular medical checkups to maintain their mental and physical well-being.

     

  • Micro pension: Contributors’ lifestyle may delay scheme

    The need by women in the informal sector to save to buy gold for collateral for loans or resell when in need of cash may  threaten the micro pension plan.

    Also, potential contributors who bought land and properties in instalments for their long-term cash-flow generation and the culture of reliance on children for old age support may be another problem.

    An actuarial scientist and chartered insurer, Dr. Pius Apere,  stated this at a pension conference in Lagos.

    Apere, who is also the Managing Director of Achor Actuarial Services Limited, said informal sector employees might have other long- term investments generating income like dividends.

    He stated that the low uptake of Micro Pension Plan (MPP) of the Federal Government is as a result of its voluntility, low public awareness and negative perceptions (lack of confidence) about pension products and fund management with low pension benefits.

    He said there was the need for enlightenment to create awareness of old age risks and benefits of saving for old age over bank savings account.

    He however noted that the 40 per cent withdrawal option is a good incentive to attract micro pension contributors.

    Speaking on the administration of micro pension, he said high capital investment in IT infrastructure (a driver for financial inclusiveness) is needed to mobilise contributors at grassroots with high volume of records keeping required.

    He said: “High tendency for contributors to operate Retirement Savings Account (RSA) as bank savings account due to over flexibility of the contingent withdrawal option, is the leading administrative hassle for the Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs).

    “To reduce administrative hassles, contributors are to complete a monthly income and expenditure planner at registration as a guide to what they can conveniently in a month.

    He disclosed that Section 6.5.3 (ix) of the micro pension guideline has created high expectation for micro pension contributors to benefit from Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP) at retirement, even if their RSA balances are too low to qualify for GMP as required in section 6.5.3 (x) of micro pension Guidelines.

    “But there is reputational risk for the entire pension industry as micro pension retirees will be aggrieved when GMP expectation is not met due to more use of contingent withdrawal option.

    “This will create a strain on Pension Protection Fund (PPF) as high number of retirees likely to qualify for GMP benefit due to conversion from micro pension plan to mandatory contribution option. It is highly unlikely that the PPF established to fund the GMP as stated in section 82 of PRA 2014 will be sufficient to cover the GMP liability,” he added.

  • Pension complaints and solutions

    JOSHUA: Dear Omobola, my name is Joshua. I retired as a Seargent on grade level 05 step 4. My date of first appointment is January 20, 1986 and that of retirement is March 1, 1997. I have done verification in Abuja. Please I have no money. Kindly tell the pension boss that she should pay my pension. I am helpless.

    PTAD: The pensioner’s complaint has been reviewed by the operations department. He will be paid as funds are allocated and released by the Federal Government.

    ISA: This is from one of the Pre- 1996 Railway pensioner in Nasarawa State. My name is Isa. Our 18 months’ arrears (part of 52 months) since the time of former President Goodluck Jonathan is yet to be cleared.

    Also, Railway pensioners are the least paid nationwide.

    Kindly use your good offices to  solve our problems. Thank for being there for us.

    PTAD: It is an assumed liability by some group of pensioners in the Nigeria Railway Corporation. The group is yet to forward any supporting documents.

    SUNDAY: I retired in June 2003 from the service of the former government agency changed to National Clearing and Forwarding Agency. I received my pension from March 2008 to April 2018. But they stopped it after April and I don’t know why. Please help me.

    PTAD: If Mr Eshiet has been verified, we advise that he sends a  scanned copy of his verification slip to complaints@ptad.gov.ng. If he has not, he can visit our Abuja or Lagos office with his employment documents, BVN and original stamped bank statement from April, last year till date to be verified and monthly pension payment resumed if eligible.

     MRS ONIYE: God bless The Nation Pension column. My name is Mrs. Oniye. I retired from the Federal Government College, Idoani in April,1999, on Grade 2 Typist, G.L 5 Step 10. My gratuity was paid on June 7, 2007. I have not been paid any monthly pension. Please help me contact the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) on non-payment of my monthly pension since 1999.

    PTAD: The pensioner is advised to send her complaint, name and account details to complaints@ptad.gov.ng. Her telephone number as provided is not reachable.

    ALICE: Well-done and thanks for The Nation’s concern on pensioner’s matters.My name is Alice. I am a state pensioner with federal share. I retired on April 30, 2008 without payment till date. My pensioner number is annonymous. I did verification since August 2017 but PTAD has not paid me till date. Kindly assist. Thank you.

    PTAD: The pensioner’s complaint has been investigated. She will receive payment as funds are allocated and released by the Federal Government.

  • PTAD verifies Southeast pensioners

    The Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) has intensified in its verification of pensioners to enable them receive their pension entitlements in the Eastern part of the country. Omobola Tolu-Kusimo reports

    Over 10,000 pensioners of   federal parastatals, agencies and institutes from the Southeast under the Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS) have been verified by the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD).

    This was achieved during the fifth phase of the parastatals pensioners verification in the region. The exercise, which started on Monday, August 26, was carried out in Awka, Enugu  and Owerri.

    The Nation learnt that owing to the large turnout of pensioners in Enugu and Owerri, the directorate approved a six-day extension for the center in Owerri and a four-day extension for the Enugu centre.

    PTAD Executive Secretary, Dr Chioma Ejikeme, who gave the approval, said the extension was to ensure that eligible pensioners and Next-of-Kin, who presented themselves, were verified, stating that the exercise recorded an average daily turnout of 344 pensioners.

    According to her, the exercise did not include Customs, Immigration and Prisons pensioners, Civil Service pensioners, Police pensioners, and  parastatals pensioners who had already been verified by PTAD.

    She said the next phase of the parastatals pensioner verification in the Northwest region started last Monday and is expected to end next Wednesday.

    Mrs. Ejikeme advised that pensioners do not have to travel to the state or location they retired from to be verified. “They can be verified at any of our centers that is within the geo-political zones where they reside.

    “All pensioners living outside the country will be verified whenever they visit the country provided they show proof of residency outside Nigeria. Such proof should be provided in advance via PTAD email which is info@ptad.gov.ng.

    “All Letters of Introduction for new enrollees (those not on payroll) must be personally signed by the Chief Executive Officer of the Agency to be acceptable for verification.”

    Mrs. Ejikemee said continuous mobile verification would be conducted for sick and infirm pensioners. The original documents of the pensioners must be brought to the verification venue, together with proof of infirmity for authentication, before mobile verification can be scheduled.

    Pensioners have, however, lauded the Director’s commitment to verifying and enrolling them on the payroll.

    A pensioner, Adedeji Adebanjo, said he retired from federal service since 2005 but was recently enrolled into the payroll by PTAD.

    He said since his verification last year, he has started receiving monthly pension and also received his arrears.

    Mrs Florence Orji added that the directorate has become very sensitive to the plight of pensioners.

    She said the staff of the Directorate showed care and love to them on the day of her verification.

  • AIICO celebrates ex-MD

    AIICO Insurance Plc has celebrated Mr. Edwin Igbiti, the former Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer who retired from the company, after 27 years of service.

    The event was attended by members of the Board of Directors and Executive Management team of AIICO Insurance Plc; top executives of AIICO’s subsidiaries; Mr. Igbiti’s family, friends, colleagues and stakeholders in the industry.

    Other dignitaries at the event were the Chairman, Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA), Mr. Tope Smart; Director-General, NIA, Mrs. Yetunde Ilori, President, Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN), Mr. Eddie Efekoha and the Director-General, Mr. Richard Borokini.

    Business mogul Chief Oladele Fajemirokun, was accompanied by his wife, Edith to the event.

    Fajemirokun, who was the special guest on the occasion, praised Igbiti for his commitment to excellence while in service at the company and pronounced blessings upon him.

  • CHI’s ‘records consistent growth’ in 12 years

    Consolidated Hallmark Insurance (CHI) in the last 12 years has evolved from a company that merged in 2007 to building a long-lasting profitable company, its Managing Director, Mr. Eddie Efekoha has said.

    He spoke at the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB) Members Evening, hosted by CHI in Lagos.

    He affirmed the company’s strengthened position among industry players, stating that it has consistently paid dividends to shareholders amounting to N1.38 billion, while claims paid in the last five years amounted to N11 billion.

    Speaking on the ongoing recapitalisation mandated by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), he said the industry is over-due for another wave of recapitalisation 12 years after the previous one, given the macroeconomic developments since then.

    Efekoha, who is also the President of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN), commended the regulator over its supervisory role in the industry.

    On CHI, he said they undertook the journey to raise capital for their business before the commission demanded the industry to do so.

    He said: “Based on our objective as a company, we believe that that we didn’t need to be pushed by external forces before we did the right thing. We, on our own, went to the market to raise capital. Today, the regulator says we should do more than that including other companies.

    “It is necessary to raise capital if you want to protect your customers. For us, we wanted to make sure that the placement of our customers gets better in the next one year or more and that we are still in existence. This is the way I think every insurance company should go.

    “We have got many third party references from brokers and it speaks to the sustainability of our business. If your governance system is excellent, it means that you are playing highly by the rules. The reasons some companies have gone under is usually reasons of lack of corporate governance.’’

    On the issue of capital, he said underwriting companies should raise their capital.

    He said going by the regulator’s mandate, for us to retain our existing licence will require N10 billion.

    ‘’If you look at our 2018 accounts, you will find that we have a shareholder’s fund of over N6 billion. If you take this from the required N10 billion, you will find that we have a gap of N4 billion. And so we are in the market looking for N4 billion. In the last two years, we have been engaged in a capital raising activities. First, we did rights issue of N500 million in 2017 and it was oversubscribed. Secondly, we did a private placement of N734 million in 2018 and it was also successful. So this brought N1.2 billion into our business.

    “I mentioned this last two outing because it shows that we have experience in raising capital. Yes, the sum of N4 billion can be high but our experience in the last two years will be brought to bear in our exercise. We are very certain that we will raise even more than N4 billion going by our plans which we have submitted to NAICOM. We did some publications on disclosures to our shareholders through the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) recently.

    “In summary, we will be looking for N4 billion and in doing this, we will be going to our existing shareholders and new shareholders. The two outing we did in the past was one to existing shareholders and the other to new shareholders. We will still do the same thing. But we are not be averse to mergers and acquisition because even if we raise N10 billion, we can still go for merger or acquisition, if there are benefits for us. We want to ensure organic and inorganic benefits. But as a plc, we will still go to the public further details as we are looking at all options.’’

    He assured the brokers that it is committed to meeting the new capital requirement and plans to continually deliver value through technology, improvement in customer satisfaction and product diversification to further deepen insurance penetration

    The firm’s Executive Director, Operations, Mary Adeyanju, said: “We have recorded a consistent growth in premium over the years, at a CAGR of 10 .52 per cent. Our stable performance has been driven by the increased confidence by our customers.

    “CHI has a culture of prompt claims payment and as a result has consistently paid claims since its inception. The total claims paid over a period of five years is N11.4 billion.

    NCRIB Executive Secretary Mr. Fatai Adegbenro stated that the industry needs sufficient capital to meet the business realities, while meeting their civic responsibilities, which is, settlement of genuine claims.