From left: Vice President, Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers, Mrs. Bola Onigbogi; Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Finance, Mr. Tunde Ogunleye; President, NCRIB, Mr. Kayode Okunoren and Deputy President, Mr. Shola Tinubu during a courtesy visit of NCRIB team to Lagos State Ministry of Finance.
TEXT OF PRESS STATEMENT DELIVERED BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE NIGERIAN COUNCIL OF REGISTERED INSURANCE BROKERS, MR. EMMANUEL KAYODE OKUNOREN, FCIB AT THE VALEDICTORY PRESS BRIEFING HELD AT THE NCRIB HOUSE, 58 MOLEYE STREET, ALAGOMEJI, YABA, LAGOS
• Gentlemen of the Media
It is my utmost pleasure to welcome you all to this press conference which is the last to be presided over by me as the President of the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers. I cannot but appreciate you all for the wonderful support that you gave to me, culminating in the modest achievements recorded by me and my team in office. It is worthy of mention that through your qualitative and supportive reportage you have been able to project the Council in positive light, while retain objectivity.
Definitely, there is no administration that can lay claim to any iota of success without getting good support from the media. Anything short of good media relations would amount to winking in the dark, without anyone appreciating what is being done.
You would all recall that at the beginning of my tenure I addressed you gentlemen of the media where I highlighted my thrust of office and the challenges that were facing us as a professional body. With your support, the cooperation of members and commitment of members of my team, we have surmounted almost all the obstacles and further positioned our Council on a pedestal of greater respect and reckoning in the comity of other professionals in Nigeria. Let me at this juncture underscore the fact that I have in the last two years received tremendous support from all members, including the elders and our past presidents. I am indeed very grateful to them all.
Whilst it is far from my intention to tooth my horn or that of my team, it is yet important to state that though it was not a bed of roses, yet the Council recorded some modest feats in the last two years, a summary of which I feel obligated to highlight.
Adding greater value to members. I am most delighted that today, it is a pride for any member to belong to the NCRIB, because of the added value members are getting from the Council. Through this value addition we have been able to douse the negative views and a flurry of ill fillings that was the lot of many members about two years ago. We have given value in terms of training. We have also given value in terms of information sharing, leading to facilitation of business through public bids.
Effective liaison with government bodies. It would be recalled that in the last two years, the flurry of penalties and fines being levied on Brokers was “killing” and it became a disincentive to business. Today, we have, through constructive dialogue, sought concession for our members with the regulatory authorities, especially NAICOM and the Financial Reporting Council.
International Relations. I am most delighted to state that we have further the frontiers of relationships with international insurance bodies, especially BIBA and the African Insurance Forum (AIF) with the consequential benefits in form of better training and exposure for members. We have realized that for the industry to continue to be relevant, its members must continually learn and unlearn and have the required exposure to deliver value to their clients.
Secretariat staff development. It is noteworthy that the staffers of the Council were given the required exposure by way of training in the last two years. Realizing that the secretariat is the engine room of knowledge for the Council, my team has provided the required training opportunities for all members of staff to accelerate their potentials to deliver value.
Image projection. It is a thing of joy that the Council entrenched the corporate visibility project during the period. We realized the need to inch up the image of Brokers and pull down several noxious beliefs about their practice. Today, the corporate visibility project has been warmly received by all members and through it the corporate reputation of the Council and its members have been improved significantly.
Intra industry relationship: The last two years had witnessed significant cooperation between the NCRIB and other industry operators, namely the CIIN, NIA and ILAN. It may be recalled that the NCRIB Chaired the Planning Committee of the 2017 National Insurance Conference where great feats were recorded in terms of the quality of resource persons and the content of the conference. We have an understanding that the industry would only move forward if it is cohesive and united.
Mentoring: In line with my thrust of office on the mentoring of the upcoming generation, it is a thing of joy that the Council under my leadership took some strides in this regards. There were visitation to some higher institutions where books and other educational materials were distributed. Similarly, it was taken as a point of duty to invite students of selected higher institutions to editions of Members Evening programme of the Council in order to make them meet with the professionals and get inspired. It is my belief that these gestures would significantly mould the perception of the younger ones about insurance as a career.
Gentlemen of the Press, I will not end my address without an appeal for the sustenance of the support you gave me to the in-coming executives. Since governance is a continuum, our two besides will continue to gain from unbroken collaboration. I have the assurance that the in-coming executives, under Mr. Shola Tinubu, will sustain the good work, having been a significant part of this team, with your unalloyed support.
I have no doubt that with your support, we shall collectively change the narrative of our industry and position it for greater success.
Once again, I thank you for honouring my invitation.
God bless.
