ADDRESS BY LADY ISIOMA CHUKWUMA, PRESIDENT/CHAIRMAN OF COUNCIL, CHARTERED INSURANCE INSTITUTE OF NIGERIA, DURING THE INSTITUTE’S 2015 GRADUATION AND AWARDS CEREMONY HELD ON TUESDAY 15TH DECEMBER, 2015 AT 10 DEGREES EVENTS CENTRE, IKEJA, LAGOS STATE OF NIGERIA.
PROTOCOLS
It is my pleasure to welcome you most heartily on the occasion of the 2015 Graduation and Awards Ceremony of our great Institute. The responsibilities conferred on our Institute by statute have continued to engender a veritable platform for the propagation of insurance education in Nigeria. In particular, the Institute’s professional examinations have become deep-rooted and have, since 1992, produced home-bred professionals who have continued to perform creditably in their various endeavours.
As I congratulate the 159 graduands being inducted as Associates today as well as the 6 Associates to be admitted to the Society of Fellows, it is my fervent wish that these new feathers added to their caps will engender greater commitment to the Institute and the Insurance profession, as a whole.
Let me reiterate that our Institute’s resolute commitment to the ideals of professionalism and will continue to exercise its statutory responsibilities as enshrined in Act No. 22 of 1993 of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. A major provision of the statute is the responsibility to continually determine the skills and knowledge required by persons seeking to become registered members of the Insurance profession. The Governing Council has therefore remained irrevocably committed to the smooth conduct of the professional examinations and also in strengthening the examination system through regular review of the syllabus and examination structure.
Let me emphasize the determination of the Institute to continually strengthen the examination system through regular review of the syllabus and examination structure. We are conscious of the Industry dynamics and the emerging challenges with new and complex human capital needs. The challenges facing the industry today not only require a fresh impetus in human capital development but also a renewed vigour and approach to skills recreation in order to equip practitioners for the huge tasks of managing the current realities in the business landscape. I wish to state that the Institute is on the verge of completing another review of its syllabus as it is our desire to produce professionals that can compare favourably with their contemporaries in other climes.
In a similar vein, full academic activities have commenced at the CIIN established Centre for Insurance and Financial Management Studies (CIFMS). The CIFMS provides ample Training and Capacity Building opportunities for both Insurance practitioners and persons desirous of joining our Industry.
The policy of our Council is that all Certificates issued by the Institute remain the Institute’s property and could be withdrawn from the holders if the Institute has good reasons to do so. Let me state unequivocally that the Institute reserves the right to withdraw its certificate from any holder, if it discovers any breach of the examination process. Further reasons for such withdrawal of certificates could emanate from unethical conduct or any act(s) that could bring the Institute and indeed the profession into disrepute.
As I once again congratulate the graduands and awardees here present. I feel elated by the growing enthusiasm for the acquisition of professional insurance qualification and the abiding consciousness in embracing professionalism in the business and practice of insurance. The professional qualifications will remain a source of pride for all holders.
By finding fulfillment in the attainment of our invaluable professional qualification, the graduands have also accepted a greater burden of responsibility as custodians of the ethics and codes of practice of our noble profession. They will be constantly reminded of the oath of allegiance to uphold and defend the fundamental principles of insurance practice as well as their vows to be of good conduct at all times. The ideal of an Ethical and Professional Best Practice is being pursued by the Institute to reposition and reinforce the integrity of our profession. The Lecture to be presented here today will shed more light in this direction.
I must assert, on this occasion, that the attainment of professional qualification should not be seen as an end in itself. It therefore behoves all holders of the qualifications to be mindful of the importance of Continuous Professional Development. As you are aware, the MCPD has become institutionalized with varying degrees of enforcement by most professions. In our own case, it engenders a scheme which requires all members to locate themselves in the point scoring scheme, hence it is referred to by our Institute as the Mandatory Continuous Professional Development (MCPD) programme. Professionals should not exempt themselves from this scheme under any guise. The MCPD is, unarguably, an inalienable part of our professional education and development and should be treated as such.
As I end this address, permit me to welcome our guests from far and near and to enjoin them to be with us for the duration of this ceremony.
As I take my seat, I wish to convey the congratulations of our Council for all awardees and graduands. The examination prizes will also remain a permanent feature of this ceremony as a mark of appreciation for hard work. We thank the prize donors and urge for more prizes to cover all subjects of the professional examinations.
I thank you for your attention.
LADY ISIOMA CHUKWUMA ACII, AIIN
President/Chairman of Council
CHARTERED INSURANCE INSTITUTE OF NIGERIA
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