By Bisi Bamishe
The Federal Government has expressed its intention to partner with strategic professional institutions towards entrenching viable economic policies that would inflate the economy and guarantee the nations sustainable development.
The Hon. Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the economy, Mr Wale Edun, made the assertion when the delegation of The Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB) paid him a courtesy visit in Abuja.
According to Edun, the current administration was giving primacy to getting the economy out of the woods through pragmatic reforms by getting hold of government revenue and monitoring effective outcomes of government policies.
The Minister disclosed that the government realised the need to collaborate with reputable professional institutions which are believed to bring value to governments new policy direction, hence an extension of hands of fellowship to notable bodies like the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers, especially in its economic task force team.
Speaking earlier, the President of NCRIB, Prince Babatunde Oguntade had applauded the Ministry for effectively anchoring the economic reforms of the present administration which he stated was already putting the country on the path of sustainable recovery.
He stated that government needed to place greater emphasis on insurance as one of the economic reforms strategies, bearing in mind the endemicity of risks in every endeavour of government, coupled with the need to preserve the huge human and material resources of government against unforeseen circumstances.
Oguntade specifically advocated a more stringent commitment of government to the enforcement of the laws on compulsory insurances which he noted would buoy the solvency of the industry as well as guarantee the required peace of mind of the people and inflate the economy ultimately.
While advocating the involvement of Registered Insurance Brokers in all government insurance accounts, Oguntade frowned at the practice of virement in yearly budgeted expenditure for insurances by government, noting that the accounting practice had deprived the industry of its required revenue.
The NCRIB President also made a passionate case for the removal of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) from the revenue generating agencies of government which led to government deducting 50 per cent front its revenue or income, a situation he said could badly affect the effective legislative oversight of the regulatory body through inadequacy of funds.
