Former NAICOM CEO Objects To Granting NPF Insurance Licence

Former commissioner for insurance, Mohammed Kari, has raised an objection against the licensing of NPF Insurance Company Limited by the industry regulator, the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM).

Kari, a major player in the Nigerian insurance industry, who is currently occupying a traditional stool as the Wazirin Bauchi, said, there could be compromise in the management and enforcement of compulsory insurances in the country if the NPF Insurance Company Limited is granted licence to operate as an insurance company.
Kari, who is also the incumbent Waziri Bauchi, Bauchi State, noted that the authoritative nature of the police and their potential representation on the Board of Directors of the insurance firm could lead to undue interference in the management of the insurance company, compromising its independence and effectiveness.

NAICOM had earlier, through an advertorial in some national dailies newspapers, disclosed that, it has received an application from The NPF Insurance company Limited for registration as an insurance company to transact insurance business in Nigeria and had requested the public to submit/report any objection or otherwise against the registration to it within 21 days from the date of the publication.

He had, in his letter of objection, dated July 25, 2024, sent copies to the Commissioner for Insurance/ CEO of NAICOM Olusegun Omosehin; the Minister of Finance; Chairman of National Insurance Commission; Chairman Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institution; Chairman of House Committee on Insurance and Actuarial Matters; Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises and Chairman of Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA).

Responding to this development in a statement made available to LEADERSHIP yesterday, Kari, who was once an operator and later, a regulator said: “The core operations of the Nigeria Police Force are fundamentally at odds with commercial activities. The primary mandate of the Police is to maintain law and order, not to engage in business ventures.

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Allowing the Police to operate an insurance company could lead to conflicts of interest and distract from their essential duties. The Police is a regulator of sorts, they cannot be enforcing the law on compulsory insurance and be a provider of Insurance. The temptation to force motorists to insure with their company will be irresistible.”

The structure and ownership requirements stipulated by Nigerian insurance laws and Financial Reporting Council(FRC), he stressed, necessitate a level of expertise that is currently lacking within the nominated Board of Directors of the proposed insurer and the Police force, adding that, “Another requirement is a spread in ownership to avoid undue influence on the company by one shareholder. The authoritative nature of the police and their potential representation on the Board of Directors could lead to undue interference in the management of the insurance company, compromising its independence and effectiveness.

“The Nigeria Police Force Investments have a history of mismanagement, as evidenced by the numerous issues surrounding the Nigeria Police Pension Scheme. This history raises significant doubts about the ability of the Police to effectively manage an insurance company, which requires a high level of expertise and know-how.”

Stating that the fragmentation of the insurance business would result in the loss of valuable data and income for the industry, he added that the entry of the Nigeria Police into the insurance market could disrupt the existing ecosystem, leading to inefficiencies and potential data loss that could harm the overall industry.

“In case they are floating the idea of a captive, I don’t believe the Nigeria Police Force has enough business spread or expertise to support the survival of a captive company nor do they have the reputation to attract independent business. This would expose public funds to unwarranted loss.

“The command-and-control nature of the Police force would make them take offence of a caution by a regulator. I don’t see how the Police can operate under someone’s regulation, for they would not accept commercial directive, and neither would they observe regulatory control. It would compromise the authority of the regulator if one company is seen to ignore regulatory control or out rightly disregard them, the regulator would lose his authority to regulate the market,” he pointed out.

Kari, who spent 44 years as an operator and a regulator in the. insurance industry between 1979 and 2023, in his nine-point concerns submitted: “The core operations of the Nigeria Police Force are fundamentally at odds with commercial activities. The primary mandate of the Police is to maintain law and order, not to engage in business ventures. Allowing the Police to operate an insurance company could lead to conflicts of interest and distract from their essential duties. The Police is a regulator of sorts, they cannot be enforcing the law on compulsory insurance and be a provider of Insurance. The temptation to force motorists to insure with their company will be irresistible.”

While maintaining that, approving the application could set a concerning precedent, he said: “It may encourage other government agencies, such as the Federal Road Safety Corps, Nigeria Customs Service, Nigerian Army, Navy, Air Force, Nigeria Civil Defence Corps, Office of the Head of Service of the Federation and others, to seek similar licences. (And why not?) The Commission can therefore not refuse them. This proliferation of government-run insurance companies could undermine the integrity and stability of the insurance sector and reverse the government policy of divesting from business, which as you remember was the reason for the creation of the Bureau for Public Enterprises (BPE). I suggest you seek the opinion of the Bureau as you continue with your consideration.”