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3 weeks ago
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•Commissioner for Insurance, Olusegun Omosehin
Some members of the minority shareholder community have hailed the National Insurance Commission for sacking the board and management of Africa Alliance Insurance Plc effective Wednesday.
Announcing the sack at the commission’s Lagos office in Lagos, the Commissioner for Insurance, Olusegun Omosehin, said that the action was taken to protect the confidence of the customers.
He stated, “One of the core mandates of the National Insurance Commission, as the primary supervisor of the insurance sector, is to ensure the integrity and stability of insurance companies and, by so doing, take all necessary steps in the interest of the public.
“The National Insurance Commission has removed the board and management of African Alliance and, in their place, appointed an interim board and management effective today. The new board is tasked with managing the affairs of the company and, above all, ensuring the interests of policyholders, particularly annuitants, are safeguarded.”
The appointed interim board and management members include Dr Haruna Mustapha as chairman; Mr Jacob Erhabor as MD/CEO; Mr Wasiu Amao as executive director (Technical), Ms Oremeyi Longe as executive director (Finance); Mr Anthony Achebe and Halimatu Khabeeb as non-executive directors.
The CFI added that the objective of the takeover was to protect the interests of African Alliance Insurance Plc’s annuitants, policyholders, other stakeholders, and the broader insurance industry while ensuring the company’s return to stability and compliance.
He also said one of the mandates of the interim board was to open up the annuity portfolio for possible acquisition by interested parties.
“We will be happy if we see a company that is willing to take that portfolio; you know they will not take the portfolio if there is no matching asset. So, once you can achieve the asset-liability matching, you might then be able to find suitable companies that will be interested in taking over the portfolio. It’s part of the mandate. But overall, just know that the overriding consideration for this action is to protect the interest of the Nigerian public.”
In separate chats with The PUNCH, shareholders supported the insurance regulator’s decision to sack the board and management of Africa Alliance Insurance.
The National Coordinator of the Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Moses Igbrude, said, “The issue of AA has been on the front burner for a while. It is quite unfortunate that the management and core investor didn’t address it. My appeal is to the interim management and board. They should do their best to salvage the insurance company to make sure it did not fail.
“NAICOM has done it before and shareholders didn’t lose. I expect that to be replicated so that at the end of the day, investors will not lose, workers will not be sacked and there will be no asset stripping.”
The former National Coordinator of ISAN, Dr Anthony Omojola, stated that NAICOM was doing its job.
“NAICOM is the insurance sector regulator and I think they are just doing their job,” he asserted.
The National Coordinator of the Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Boniface Okezie, welcomed NAICOM’s move, noting, “There is nothing wrong with the decision they took at least to save the company. You give the managers you appointed a marching order to turn this company around within a specific time. That is the way to go.
“You first save the company from going into extinction. For me, that is good. On the African Alliance, it is a welcome development. I don’t have a problem with what they just did.”
However, he called for a revisit of the cancellation of the licence of Niger Insurance, positing that it would have been better to appoint interim management instead of the regulator’s action.
Addressing this concern at the press briefing, the CFI said, “What happened in Niger is not the same as what has happened. Maybe I need to just use the opportunity to explain to you the difference.
“What happened in Niger Insurance was a cancellation of the licence. Niger’s operating license was cancelled, and what that meant was a liquidator or receiver was appointed. The receiver manager is then saddled with the responsibility of disposing of all the assets to be able to pay and meet all the liabilities that are on the ground. Niger is no longer operating.
“The distinction between that and what has happened here is that from what we see, from the analysis we have seen, we think things can be achieved a bit quicker, and that is why we have taken this step right to ensure, more importantly, that the annuitants get their funds.”
