The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Operators

  • SEC revokes licences of 84 capital market operators

    SEC revokes licences of 84 capital market operators

    The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over the weekend revoked the operational licences of “84 capital market operators that are inactive”.

    A statement from SEC called on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS), the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, capital market trade groups, the investing public and others to desist from dealing with the operators whose licences were revoked.

    SEC, in its statement, said it “is empowered under Section 30 (1) and (2) of the Investment and Securities Act (ISA) 2007 to revoke the operational licence of capital market operators that are inactive.”

  • Grocery operators groan under shoplifting

    Grocery operators groan under shoplifting

    Shoplifting has become a pain in the neck of supermarkets and other retail outlets. Retailers are taking preventive measures, deploying Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras in their stores. The cost of acquiring and maintaining such gadgets as well as training security personnel is affecting their profitability, reports TONIA ‘DIYAN

    For retailers, particularly supermarkets, shoplifting is a big problem. The rising cases of shoplifting in major supermarkets is taking a heavy toll on profitability. Although, it is difficult to estimate how much operators in the Nigerian retail sector loses to shoplifting annually because of the country’s poor record-keeping culture, operators and stakeholders say that Nigeria, given her population, takes the lion share of the over $128 billion the global retail industry lost last year to shoplifting, according to a research report by the Global Retail Theft Barometer.
    As if the figure was not enough heartache for operators, global Retail Theft Barometer, which tracks shoplifting, trends as well as the leading causes and methods of prevention, warned that shoplifting would likely increase during this festive season, including public holidays and Easter, which are generally busier for retailers. “Shoplifting increases during busy retail operation periods like weekends and afternoons, as the stores would be less focused on petty theft and shoplifting. This makes it easier for items to be stolen and concealed by perpetrators without being detected,” an expert and head of Consumer Goods Council, South Africa (CGCSA) Crime Risk Initiative, Graham Wright, added.
    According to experts, shoplifting, also known as five-finger discount, or shrinkage in the global retail industry parlance, is theft of goods from a retail establishment. It is one of the most common property crimes dealt with by police and courts. But in Nigeria where records of such crimes are either inaccurate or not kept at all, owners of retail outlets across the country are getting increasingly apprehensive over the rising cases of shoplifting. This is particularly so now that supermarkets and grocery store owners are expanding the scope of goods they carry and size of their stores in preparation for the festive season.
    The most common targets of shoplifters are ‘hot products’, or small items that can be easily concealed. According to experts, such products can be quickly resold through informal markets at cheaper prices. Most shoplifters, The Nation learnt, are amateurs; however, there are people and groups who make their living from shoplifting, and they tend to be more skilled. This means that on daily basis operators are faced with the challenge of arresting runaway, internally coordinated theft by both senior and junior staff in what experts say could be an established network of organised crime.
    The emerging organised network is said to be targeting high-value products such as electronics, furniture, baby food products, cosmetics and general food items. Yet, for operators, the greatest challenge appears to be Nigeria’s legal system, which is said to be not punitive enough to deter shoplifting, either as perpetrated by shoppers or unscrupulous employees.
    “Shoplifting is one of the challenges grocery stores face. Some of them attract hoodlums depending on the area they are located,” says Ms Olamide Matthew of Home Affairs Supermarket in Gbagada, Lagos. She said because of this, the management spends resources on state-of-the-art security gadgets to stop shoplifters and hoodlums in their track.
    The story is the same at Justrite in Abule Egba, Lagos. The Manager, Mr Ahmed Tijani, said shoplifting has become a major challenge. “We often have issues of shoppers doing away with items on the shelf without paying for them. As a result, the store gradually loses its income. The management of Justrite has however, boosted its security architecture by acquiring Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras to monitor buying and selling activities in the store.
    To drive home his point, Tijani narrated how a shoplifter was caught sometime last year and was arrested. Hear him: “A lady was arrested for allegedly shoplifting our grocery items mid last year. She came in at 9:30 pm when the store attendants were hurrying to go home. She picked some can drinks and tried to hide them inside her backpack. She was however, caught by our store detective, who arrested her.”
    Indeed, the use of CCTV is becoming one of the most preferred anti-shoplifting technologies. “The surveillance camera doesn’t just help in curbing criminal activities such as shoplifting; it increases our senses of security. We stand assured because CCTV guarantees protection of our property,” the sales representative at Azlas Supermarket, Ojota, Lagos, Mr. Sunday Omokaro, said. He said if a shoplifter is aware that he is under watch, he would think twice before stealing anything. “The thieves are cautious that they might get caught, and may abstain from criminal activity,” he said.
    However, CCTVs and other anti-shoplifting measures do not come cheap, as they run into hundreds of thousands, depending on its sophistication and specification. Also, the use of CCTVs to apprehend shoplifters in the act requires full-time human monitoring of the cameras, and the human monitors must be paid. Besides, grocery owners are paying through their noses to hire, train, and maintain security personnel. And the resources for doing so are quite huge, sometimes eating into operators’ bottom line.

  • Forex policy: No respite for real sector operators

    Forex policy: No respite for real sector operators

    The  Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN’s) foreign exchange (forex) policy, which barred importers of 41 items that can be produced locally from sourcing forex through its interbank window is taking its toll on real sector operators. But hopes that the policy may be reviewed to lessen the burden of real sector operators may have dimmed following the apex bank’s refusal to shift ground, writes Assistant Editor OKWY IROEGBU-CHIKEZIE.

    Succour may be far from real sector operators particularly manufacturers who have been hoping for a review of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) foreign exchange (forex) policy, which restricted certain items from accessing foreign exchange. The manufacturers may have had their hopes dashed by the apex bank as the CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele foreclosed a possible review of the policy, which manufacturers see as a disincentive to the manufacturing sector and the economy.

    At the International Monetary Fund (IMF)/World Bank Group meeting in Lima Peru, Emefiele dashed manufacturers’ hopes, saying the policy was not up for review and that the apex bank would continue to deny importers access to forex to bring in goods which can be produced locally. He explained that contrary to insinuations, the finance sector regulator has not banned any goods from being imported. “We have not banned any items. What we just did was to exclude them from accessing foreign exchange; items that can be produced in the country.

    “We think that because of the problems we’ve had, the drop in commodity prices and revenue accruing to the nation, and because we know that these items have been produced in large quantities in this country in the past, that provision still stands. The CBN is not reconsidering the ban, the exclusion still stands,” he stressed. The CBN chief added that since the policy came into force, he has been prompted from various quarters to even elongate the ‘excluding items’ list, but that the CBN would confine itself to the items presently in the restriction basket.

    The CBN inadvertently hit the raw nerves of manufacturers when in June this year it removed 41 items from access to its foreign exchange window on grounds that they could easily be produced in Nigeria rather than spend the country’s reserves on importing them. The list included rice, cement, clothes, textiles, toothpick, poultry products, meat and processed meat, margarine, palm kernel/palm oil and vegetable oils, private airplanes/jets, tinned fish, incense and wooden doors.

    Others are soaps and cosmetics, tomato/tomato paste, woven fabrics, table ware, kitchen utensils, furniture, plywood boards and panels, wood particle boards and panels, and glassware. Cold rolled steel sheets, galvanised steel sheets, wire mesh and steel nails were also on the list. The apex bank explained that the policy was aimed at encouraging local production of the items.

    However, CBN’s explanation apparently did not hit the right chord in the ears of real sector operators especially manufacturers most of who felt that the policy imposed additional burden on them and the economy generally. Specifically, the manufacturers argued, for instance, that some of them who need some of the raw materials and products restricted from the forex market as their primary products in the manufacturing process are adversely affected.

    In other words, manufacturers who require any of the 41 restricted items as inputs and raw materials for their production may have to simply shut their operations once their existing stock is exhausted.

    As far as Director General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Mr. Muda Yusuf, is concerned, CBN’s understanding of the manufacturing process of many of the sectors affected by the policy was “limited.”

    For LCCI and other real sector operators therefore, nothing short of a review of the policy or outright cancellation would gladden their hearts. And hopes that a review of the policy was in the offing came when Vice-President ’Yemi Osinbajo recently indicated the Federal Government’s readiness to adjust the controversial forex policy that pitched it against operators in the real sector. That was at the 43rd Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) in Lagos.

    The Vice President however, said the cancellation of the policy was not an option. While noting that the CBN forex policy was introduced to boost local production and protect the nation’s manufacturing sector, he however, said there could be the need to rejig the policy towards ensuring that all the associated grey areas are properly looked at and any aspect of the policy that requires amendment resolved.

    Hear him: “We are going to have negotiations with the operators of the manufacturing sector to seek ways on how foreign exchange control can be eased to enable the items that are not eligible for foreign exchange to be covered.” While noting that the policy was as a result of the downturn in the economy caused by the falling oil prices, he said the nation deserved a robust foreign exchange reserve and would do everything to achieve that as a responsible government.

    Osinbajo’s hint of a possible adjustment of the policy once the economy improves was no doubt, a soothing balm on manufacturers and other operators in key sectors of the economy including maritime who have been lamenting that the policy has been taking a huge toll on their businesses. For instance, the revenue generation profile of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is said to have suffered because of the exclusion of some items from forex transactions.

    The Apapa Area 1 Command of the NCS this week, announced a dip in its monthly revenue collection for September, collecting N23.3 billion.

    The figure was far below the N30.1 billion collected in August, according to a report signed by its Area Controller, Comptroller Eporwei Edike. The N7 billion decline was blamed on the exclusion of some items from foreign exchange transactions by the CBN.

    Despite this and other unintended negative consequences of the policy, the CBN said it would not shift ground. Emefiele, in defending the apex bank’s stance, argued that if there’s global economic slowdown, which has affected the growth and resilience of emerging and frontier markets, including Nigeria, and there is a drop in revenue receipts, which has  impacted negatively on everyone, “There’s need for the regulator to intervene to restore stability in the exchange rate regime.”

    He also said there is need to look for ingenuous ways of increasing the sources of foreign exchange, such as encouraging exporters to repatriate their proceeds and make more foreign exchange available to the real sector so as to grow the economy. He added that the reforms that commenced about two years ago, with respect to economic diversification and taxation, will be vigorously pursued with a view to increasing government’s revenue base.

  • NNPC chief in the eye of operators

    NNPC chief in the eye of operators

    Oil and gas industry operators have testified to the integrity oil chief Dr Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu and his ability to turn the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) around.

    A former Group Managing Director  of the NNPC Chamberlain Oyibo described the new helmsman as a seasoned professional, who has been an active industry player for about three decades.

    Defending his choice for the job, Oyibo said Kachikwu is not the first helmsman to be appointed from outside. Oyibo said: It has happened before. In fact, he is the third. Lawrence Amu, who served during Shehu Shagari’s period and Dr Edmund Daukoru from Shell and Kachikwu from ExxonMobil. He is experienced in the industry. He is a core industry person having spent about 30 years. To be an industry person is not just to know how to drill.

    “His choice is good for the industry. If he is left to work without so much external influence, he will deliver on his mandate of turning the corporation around for the benefit of the economy.

    Principal Consultant, Lonadek Oil and Gas Consultants, Dr. Ibilola Amao described Kachikwu’s appointment as an excellent choice.

    “Most of the obsolete policies, contracts and agreements would be updated. Hopefully, the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) would be unbundled and restructured. A holistic approach to the use and sale of Nigeria’s hydrocarbons, which would favour the country, will be introduced and the long awaited sale of Nigeria’s crude on the spot market would be achieved. His international pedigree, global outlook, integrity and ExxonMobil experience is quite welcome.”

    One of the top managers in his former employment, ExxonMobil, who didn’t want his name mentioned, described Kachikwu as a team player.

    She said: “As an individual, manager and leader, Kachikwu doesn’t have or carry too much airs around him. He is not ostentatious. He is down to earth. From that perspective he is collegiate. As a senior management person, he was very collaborative, likes to seek opinions and perspectives from different people and forms his decision. Before he takes decision, he considers the overall benefits to the organisation and people involved. He likes to work with the workers on vertical and horizontal levels.

    “The Kachikwu I know, is his own man, he listens. He doesn’t do anything that runs against what he wants to do that will benefit the majority of people. He is highly principled. All he is after is result and records to make his name and that of his organisation indelible in positive ways and he builds his strategies and goes out to achieve it.

    “Besides, he is self-made and can always walk out of anything or responsibility that works against his principles. He was already made before coming into the oil and gas Industry.

    For the President, Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE), Mr. Chikwendu Edoziem, who retired last month from ExxonMobil as an Executive Director, Kachikwu has the solution to the myriad of problems in the NNPC and Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.

    According to him, “Kachikwu is seasoned and went through a company where structure, good governance and right personnel at the right places work like magic, and enables a company drives itself. Midas

    Edoziem said: “He is a seasoned professional. He is very articulate, seasoned and trained in a company that is very formidable like ExxonMobil. One of the things that we were taught in a company for it to be viable, is that you have to have the right structure. Round pegs should go into round holes and when you have the right personnel in the right place, the company, with time, will drive itself. That kind of model is what he (Kachikwu) is trying to bring in at NNPC. And it will take time to really see the benefits. Give him till December and you will see the tremendous change he has brought into the Corporation. The early ones you have seen, is rightsizing and others. Hopefully, we will get the gains toward the end of the year.”

    Reacting to the complaints by some people that things are getting tighter and tighter each day at NNPC, Edoziem accused the complainants of opposing the new order, saying, “is it when it is loose and they have their hands into everything, that’s when it is good? You have to be very careful how you look at things when people are complaining.

    “It was a field day for everybody before and suddenly, you started choking in. Because there are people who should benefit from your choking in, so that you have enough resources, enough money that should be directed to the right places. So, we are looking forward to a robust oil and gas industry and NNPC,” he added.

  • Operators donate chest clinic to Akwa Ibom govt

    Operators donate chest clinic to Akwa Ibom govt

    Agbami Oil Field operators led by Star Deepwater Petroleum Limited, a subsidiary of Chevron, have donated a fully-equipped chest clinic for the treatment of tuberculosis and other heart related diseases to Akwa Ibom State.

    The clinic, which has been inaugurated, has been handed over to the state. The facility is at the Immanuel General Hospital, Afaha Eket, Eket Local Government Area.

    The Governor, Mr Udom Emmanuel, noted that tuberculosis is a dangerous disease and, as such, all hands must be on deck to tackle it.

    Emmanuel spoke of the need for government and partners to re-strategise and channel their efforts towards tackling the new challenge of drug resistant strains of tuberculosis.

    The governor, represented by the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Dominic Ukpong, described tuberculosis as a devastating public health problem that has been responsible for a high level of morbidity and mortality in Nigeria and the world at large.

    He commended Star Deepwater Petroleum Limited and partners  for the gesture, adding that the clinic would mark a great turning point in the control and possible elimination of the disease in the state.

    His words: “Tuberculosis is a known chronic and debilitating disease responsible for a high level of morbidity and mortality globally.

    “According to a recent national prevalence survey of tuberculosis, Nigeria has the highest prevalence in the African continent and the third highest in the world.

    “In Akwa Ibom state, thousands of residents have been diagnosed to have tuberculosis of which over 90 percent of cases diagnosed have been successfully treated using the anti tuberculosis multi – drug therapy.

    “However we are being faced by new challenge in the emergence of drug resistant strains of tuberculosis to treatment, therefore there is a dire need for government and partners to re-strategize with the aim of channeling our efforts towards not only to the prevention of the resistant strain of the disease but also to ensure that those diagnosed with this strain are well catered for and treated in a controlled environment.

    “The donation of this chest clinic facility by Star Deepwater Petroleum and its partners in the Agbami field is a great step towards the right direction. This gives the government and indeed residents of Akwa Ibom a base which TB management can be carried out”

    Director, Star Deepwater Petroleum Limited, Jeffrey Ewings, represented by Mr. Sam Otuoye said the facility which happened was the 25th provided to different parts of the country including the FCT Abuja, came fully equipped with a standard x-ray machine, male and female wards, treatment rooms, laboratories and gene xpert machine.

    “This occasion demonstrates yet another example of the Co-venturer’s determined efforts to improve the healthcare system in Nigeria. I therefore encourage our recipient to effectively manage the chest clinic for the benefit of the people and ensure its sustainability”, he said.

    The other partners are: NNPC, Famfa Oil Limited, Stat Oil Nigeria Limited and Petroleo Brasileiro Nigeria Limited.

  • 140 capital market operators may lose licences

    No  fewer than 140 capital market operators may be delisted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) as regulators draw curtain on the recapitalisation.

    While intense lobby for a further extension of the recapitalisation deadline continues, sources at SEC and NSE  said the capital market regulators would stick to the September 30 deadline.

    SEC’s compliance timetable had indicated that a list of the compliant operators would be published on  October 2. October 1 is a national holiday in commemoration of Nigeria’s Independence Day.

    The sources said nothing has changed in the position of the regulators, noting that SEC,  will draw the final mark on compliance by the close of business today.

    Under the rules, the NSE is required to replicate any regulatory action by SEC, especially revocation of licence and suspension of any operator.

    Preliminary review by SEC indicated that majority of operators have complied with the new minimum capital requirements for their functions. Average compliance level ranged from 70 per cent to 95 per cent across the functions. The final list would be made ready on Friday.

    The Nation’s investigation, however, indicated that no fewer than 140 capital market operators might be delisted for failure to meet the new minimum capital requirements. Most of these operators also fall within the inactive operators.  A new rule on the revocation of dealing licences and expulsion of inactive stockbroking firms came into effect in June this year empowers the NSE to revoke licences of dormant operators.

    A status review by the NSE indicated that some 101 licences might be withdrawn, including some 88 inactive capital market operators.

    SEC had in December 2013 announced major increases in minimum capital requirements for capital market functions under a new minimum capital structure that was initially scheduled to take off by January 1, this year. It, however, extended the deadline to September 30.

    Minimum capital base for broker and dealer was increased by 329 per cent from the existing N70 million to N300 million. Broker, which currently operates with capital base of N40 million, will now be required to have N200 million, representing an increase of 400 per cent. Minimum capital base for dealer increased by 233 per cent from N30 million to N100 million.

    Also, issuing houses, which facilitate new issues in the primary market, will now be required to have minimum capital base of N200 million as against the current capital base of N150 million.

    The capital requirement for underwriter also doubled from N100 million to N200 million. Trustees, rating agencies and portfolio and fund managers had their minimum capital base increased by 650 per cent each from N40 million, N20 million and N20 million to N300 million, N150 million and N150 million. A  Registrar will now have a minimum capital base of N150 million as against the current requirement of N50 million.

    While the minimum capital base for corporate investment adviser remained unchanged at N5 million, individual investment advisers will have to increase their capital base by 300 per cent from N500,000 to N2 million.

     

  • Lagos to enforce rules for boat operators

    The Lagos State Government will embark on aggressive campaign and enforcement of guidelines for commercial boat operators to stem boat accidents.

    A statement by Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) Managing Director Mrs Abisola Kamson said Governor Akinwunmi Ambode would ensure that water transportation, remained the most efficient and cost effective mode of transportation.

    Kamson, who spoke on the backdrop of last weekend’s boat mishap at Oke-Ira Nla, Ajah-Bayeku in Ikorodu, said LASWA was notified of the accident involving a Bayeku Ferry Association commercial boat carrying 20 passengers and two crew members.

    She said upon receiving the notification, the Authority’s Water Guards were immediately deployed to assist in rescue operations.

    Kamson said she later led a delegation of state officials and the Baale of Baiyeku, Chief Saheed Aleje Ajibode to visit the site of the incident.

    She confirmed that all passengers onboard were wearing life jackets, revealing that 17 of them were rescued alive while five who were earlier rushed to the nearest General Hospital, died afterwards.

    The LASWA boss said preliminary investigation by the Authority revealed that aside the mechanical fault that developed when the steering cable connected to the engine propeller cut, the captain of the boat was possibly also over-speeding, adding that he is presently being questioned by the Marine Police.

    She said: “The Lagos State Government in its drive to promote a multi-modal transport system, especially the movement of passengers, goods and services on its waterways, will under no circumstances compromise safety standards and the protection of lives and property. As such we restate our commitment to the promotion of all safety measures and ensure that all operators comply with all safety standards in line with global best practices.

    “You will recall that on Wednesday September 23, at Sabokoji Jetty in Amuwo Odofin local government, the Lagos State Waterways Authority commenced the distribution of 2,400 life jackets to students of riverine areas.”

  • Why host communities’, operators’ problems persist

    Failure of oil and gas indus-try operators to identify the mmediate needs of the host communities, leverage on the needs to initiate and implement a Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) is the major cause of problems between the host communities and companies operating there, the Country Manager, Entrepreneurial Development, General Electric, Sunny Ojei has said.

    He said the need to ensure a peaceful coexistence between General Electric and its host communities,  informed the decision of the firm to sign memorandum of understanding with the communities where it operates.

    He said GE is working with the communities on how to develop the entrepreneurial skills of the residents of the communities, make them have their own jobs and earn a living.

    He said computer training, among others, have been provided to the residents of its host communities in order to ensure that they are self- employed.

    He said GE has encouraged its suppliers to provide vocational training to the people, adding that their efforts are yielding fruits as the people are now engaged.

    Ojeh said: “People need some measures or levels of assurance that their future is safe. The assurance comes through the employment opportunities, which GE has provided for them and which they are tapping. As many residents, we (GE) can cascade and influence to buy into the jobs’ opportunities around, the better for the communities concerned, the industry and the economy.”

    He urged operators in the industry to firm up relationship with their host communities, by creating opportunities for them to secure employment and live better life.

    He said once this is done, problems such as low production, destruction of facilities owned by oil and gas companies by vandals, which were mostly aggrieved members of the host communities, would be reduced.

  • Why host communities’, operators’ problems persist

    Failure of oil and gas industry operators to identify the immediate needs of the host communities, leverage on the needs to initiate and implement a Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) is the major cause of problems between the host communities and companies operating there, the Country Manager, Entrepreneurial Development, General Electric, Sunny Ojei has said.

    He said the need to ensure a peaceful coexistence between General Electric and its host communities,  informed the decision of the firm to sign  memorandum of understanding with the communities where it operates.

    He said GE is working with the communities on how to develop the entrepreneurial skills of the residents of the communities, make them have their own jobs and earn a living. He said computer training among others have been provided to the residents of its host communities in order to ensure that they are self- employed.

    He said GE has encouraged its suppliers to provide vocational training to the people, adding that their efforts are yielding fruits as the people are now engaged.

    Ojeh said: “People need some measures or levels of assurance that their future is safe. The assurance comes through the employment opportunities, which GE has provided for them and which they are tapping. As many residents, we (GE) can cascade and influence to buy into the jobs’ opportunities around, the better for the communities concerned, the industry and the economy.”

    He urged operators in the industry to firm up relationship with their host communities, by creating opportunities for them to secure employment and live better life.

    He said once this is done, problems such as low production, destruction of facilities owned by oil and gas companies by vandals, which were mostly aggrieved members of the host communities, would be reduced.

  • Fed Govt to criminalise vices by operators 

    Fed Govt to criminalise vices by operators 

    Henceforth, vices among practitioners will be treated as criminal offences, Commissioner for Insurance, Mohammed Kari, has said.

    He spoke at the ongoing Insurance Professionals forum with the theme, “The Nigerian business environment, implications for insurance industry’’, in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.

    He claimed most of the actions of  professionals are criminal. “The challenges of huge competence deficit, corruption, low level of innovation, over-dependence on the oil sector leaves all asunder to phantom the best soluble buyouts and how to harness the opportunities inherent therein.

    “In consequence of the effect of uncontrollable changes in the macroeconomic environments affecting our businesses, organisations and entities either passively or negatively, we are therefore implored to map-out adaptive strategies and identify the opportunities inherent in the ‘change’. As far as innovation is concerned, we need to improve the content and quality of our services. In addition to our quest for innovation, changes in companies’ business model must be exploited. The earlier we realised that the music has changed and thus the need to adjust our dancing steps, the better for us all, ‘’ he said.

    Kari continued: “We have seen unbridled, unsustainable and technical unsound rates being offered by supposedly insurance professionals more out of the need to meet a target than to properly underwrite. Professional brokers’ takes business from contraptions called ‘sub-agents’ who by the way are not registered by anyone. Premiums are loaded, discounted, retained or returned with impunity market indiscipline among practitioners, boards and management conflicts may degenerate to threatening the stability of some of our companies. The implication of such practices on the insurance industry in this new Nigerian business environment is the gradual diminution of our professional relevance as a veritable shield for the financial sector of the economy. We must all have zero tolerance for these unethical practices and vices. Most of the actions of our professionals are actually criminal.”

    Kari stressed that the industry would no longer sit on the sidelines and allow opportunities to pass by.

    He charged professionals to correct themselves than be corrected by external forces.

    In her address, the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN) President Lady Isioma Chukwuma said the survival of the industry was non-negotiable.

    She said it was their collective drive to reposition the industry and to reinforce the integrity of the profession.

    “This can only be achieved by our individual and collective commitments to the ideals of ethical and professional best practices.

    “We are charting a new course aimed at consolidating the recent gains of the industry for national economic growth. It is pertinent to reiterate that this agenda is what I have set for my tenure as the 47th President of the institute. It will be driven by means of an articulated action-plan geared at reinforcing the identified projects and ensuring their logical conclusion. This approach will also engender a rolling plan for the growth and development of our institute,, she said.