The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), has cleared the air concerning the issues surrounding the process followed by the Commission in its efforts at acquiring a new property in Abuja.
This is coming at the heels of some media reports alleging that the Commission deceived President Muhammadu Buhari and FEC into approving the purchase of a “ready to use magnificent office complex” instead of an uncompleted building at N4 billion in Abuja.
A statement released by the Commission in Abuja, explained that contrary to what was reported in the media, the management of NAICOM had made the presentation of an unfinished property to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari, through the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning for approval.
The newly acquired property, according to the statement is expected to serve the dual purpose of housing the newly established NAICOM Academy and also serve as the new head office of the Commission.
The Commission while noting that all the documents relating to the property clearly indicated that the property was in an unfinished state, asserted that the presentation followed the approval by its immediate past Governing Board.
The Commission further noted that prior to the FEC approval, it obtained a “No Objection” from the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) following the valuation of the property by the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing.
Explaining that “Adequate due diligence was conducted on the property for acquisition and all relevant approvals were secured by the Commission”, the Management of NAICOM further affirmed that provision was made in the 2022 approved annual budget of the Commission for the purpose of acquiring the building.
On the reason for an Academy, the Commission said the academy is aimed to address the knowledge gap in the insurance sector regulation and supervision not only in Nigeria but across Africa, as well as address the problem of low insurance penetration, entrench the culture of insurance in every part of the country and enhance surveillance in the geopolitical zones.
