The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has issued operational licences to four new insurance firms and one reinsurance company.

This was disclosed by the NAICOM boss, Mr. Sunday Thomas, while handing over operational licenses to the five firms at the NAICOM Head Office in Abuja today.

The new firms are Heirs Insurance Limited (General); Stanbic IBTC Insurance Limited; Heirs Life Assurance Limited; Enterprise Life Assurance Company Nigeria Limited; and FBS Reinsurance Limited.

According to Mr. Thomas, “The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) received applications from the under listed companies for registration as Insurance and Reinsurance Companies to transact insurance and reinsurance business in Nigeria. In fulfilment of the statutory provisions of extant laws for the registration/licensing of insurance Companies, the general public is hereby informed that the Commission has commenced the process of registering the companies.”

What you should know

Heirs Insurance Limited (General) has Mr. Olaniyi Stephen Onifade as its Managing Director; Mr. Akinjide Orimolade, Stanbic IBTC Insurance Limited; Mr. Abah Okoriko, Heirs Life Assurance Limited; and Mrs. Fumilayo Abimbola Omo, Enterprise Life Assurance Company Nigeria Limited.

FBS Reinsurance Limited is to be led by the former Commissioner of Insurance, Fola Daniel, along with other seasoned professionals from the brokerage and underwriting units of the industry like Bala Zakariyau, the former Managing Director of Niger Insurance, Ahmed Olaniyi Salawu of the Standard Insurance Consultants, and Wole Oshin of the Custodian Investment Plc.

Nigeria is set to achieve its plans of getting the $1.5 billion World Bank loan package as it is in the closing stages of the deal following its fulfilment of the conditions set by the international multilateral organization.

This disclosure was made by the Minister for Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, during an interview on Friday, November 27, 2020, with Bloomberg Television.

While pointing out that Nigeria’s senate approved the borrowing plan from the World Bank in June, Ahmed said the board of the multilateral institution will discuss the loan package at their next meeting.

What you should know

It can be recalled that the World Bank loan which had been sought by Nigeria in the wake of the devastating impact of the coronavirus pandemic, was being delayed by the Brettonwood institution due to concerns over reforms as it feels that Nigeria has not shown enough commitment towards achieving them.

Some of the reforms include the unification and flexibility of the exchange rate, removal of fuel subsidy, increase in electricity tariffs amongst others.

However, it seems that with the recent deregulation of the downstream sector of the oil industry with the attendant removal of fuel subsidy and increase in electricity tariff, some of those concerns of the World Bank are gradually being sorted out.

Ahmed also said that Nigeria is considering joining the G-20 debt-relief initiative and is talking to commercial lenders to secure their backing.

She said, “We will consider joining as long as it is safe for us to do so. Nigeria couldn’t participate initially because some of the conditions were unfavourable for existing loan commitments with bilateral lenders and other international borrowings.”

On the increased gap between the official rate and parallel market rate, the minister said the government is concerned about the widening gap in the naira’s exchange rate on the official and parallel markets.

She said, “We have been taking measures to close the gap. We hope to get to an even level very soon so the impact of the exchange rate will become moderated.”

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed its preparedness for the possibility of a second wave of COVID-19 pandemic in Africa, especially with the current upsurge of active cases.

This disclosure was made by the Director, Africa CDC, Dr. John Nkengasong, during the teleconference Weekly Press Briefing on #COVID-19 on November 26, 2020.

According to him, Africa CDC has started to distribute 2.7 million rapid antigen tests with the hope that by mid-2021, the health officials would have been able to vaccinate about 60% of the continent’s population with one of the several promising new vaccines — it all depends on the cooperation and support of the continent’s leaders.

(READ MORE: Reps Committee warns MDAs against failure to render accounts to Auditor-General)

What they are saying

According to Dr. Nkengasong: “To achieve 60% vaccination, we will need to mobilise up to about $10 to $12 billion, including the cost of buying the vaccines and the cost of delivering the vaccines. So, that is the 60% mark that we really want to achieve. And I just really want everyone on this platform and our partners to understand that as a continent, that is our aspiration and goal.”

As the end-of-year holidays are around the corner, Dr. Nkengasong advised: “Do not relent in wearing masks. One message that is emerging across the visits we are conducting across the continent is that people are not masking enough. And in some settings, absolutely it seems like they are not masking at all. And that is extremely dangerous.”

What you should know

• As of November 26, 2020, Africa had 2,106,931 confirmed caseloads, with a death toll of 50,628 and 1,781,744 persons recovered.
• The Southern African region is the worst hit both in terms of the number of confirmed positive cases and deaths.
• South Africa, Morocco, Egypt, and Ethiopia are the most affected countries in terms of number of positive cases.
• South Africa is presently the worst hit with active cases of 775,502.