WELCOME REMARKS BY THE DEPUTY COMMISSIONER FOR INSURANCE TECHNICAL , NATIONAL INSURANCE COMMISSION (NAICOM) AT THE SENSITIZATION WORKSHOP FOR FEDERAL FIRE SERVICE AND STATE FIRE SERVICE OFFICERS ON INSURANCE OF PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND BUILDINGS UNDER CONSTRUCTION ABOVE TWO FLOORS.
Protocol.
Good morning, Ladies and Gentlemen.
It is my pleasure to be here with you today in this sensitization workshop which aims at sensitizing Fire Service Officers on the importance of Insurance of public buildings and buildings under construction above 2 floors. This Workshop is being convened as part of ongoing efforts to apprise participants of their roles in enforcing the insurance of public building and building under construction above 2 floor.
Suffice it to say that it has now more than before become imperative to put in place measures to enforce the insurance of Public Building in Nigeria. Furthermore, let me bring to your attention the provision of Section 65of the Insurance Act 2003 which stipulates that all public building shall be adequately insured. Also, Section 64of the Act provides that all buildings under construction above 2 floors shall be adequately insured.
It is pertinent to note that the Commission can better achieve this task with the full cooperation of the Federal and State Fire Service. Today’s workshop is a part of the drive to achieve the above mandate as enshrined in extant laws.
It is very worrisome to the Commission that most public buildings and buildings under construction above 2 floors are never adequately and appropriately insured, which further accentuated the need for urgent measures to be put in place by the Commission to ensure that these buildings are adequately insured. It is the desire of NAICOM to change this narrative for good.
The essence of Insurance of public buildings and buildings under construction above 2 floors is to cushion the impact and reduce the burden and liabilities that the owner / government would have to bear in likely occurrences of catastrophic events such as natural disasters, fire, accidents, building collapse, injuries or death to third parties, etc, thereby saving the government money which can be channeled towards augmenting the needs of the citizenry, providing infrastructure, and creating employment, among others.
As follow-up to the success of previous nationwide awareness campaigns for compulsory insurance, NAICOM is moving the bar a notch higher. Therefore, this Sensitization Workshop is aimed at equipping Fire Service Officers with the necessary knowledge to properly enforce the insurance of public buildings and buildings under construction above 2 floors.
At the end of this Workshop, it is expected that Federal and State Fire Service officers will now have the knowledge of insurance of public buildings.
NAICOM is elated at this turnout notwithstanding the prevailing circumstances in the Country. We are quite sure of a much better participation in the next batches lined up to educate Officers of Fire Services of their responsibilities and the benefits inherent if public buildings are adequately insured.
Ladies and gentlemen, I thank you for your attention and wish us all a successful workshop.
Opening Remark by the representative of the Conmptroller General of the Federal Fire Service.
On behalf of the CG, we shall take the opening remarks for this workshop. We extend the Controller General’s apologies to all in attendance for being unavoidably absent at this workshop. I would like to thank and welcome all member of the Fire Service in attendance to this sensitization workshop on the enforcement of the insurance of public buildings in Nigeria. The CG also extends his appreciation to the Commissioner for insurance, and all involved at NAICOM for organizing this event which shall form part of the foundation of this inter agency collaboration. As you are all aware, the Fire Service is the only statutory organization empowered to undertake or render services as regard to fire and its related cases, which include firefighting, fire prevention, search and rescue services, humanitarian services. This makes your role as fire officers’ pivotal bedrock in the fabric of the society. Further to achieving this mandate it is pertinent that the right tools and support be made available to all Fire Service, both Federal and all State Service. As you all know this has been at the top of the Controller General Liman I. A. MIFire. agenda, a man who continues to strive and move boulder to ensure that all Fire Service in the Federation are elevated and well equipped to handle all duties as it relates to the Fire Service.In the CG’s strive for excellence, he has been able to move for the actualization of generating funds for the betterment of the Fire Service and ensuring that funds provided are well utilized in the training and equipping of the Service. He has been able to accomplish this by engaging the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) and securing a partnership with the Commission. This collaboration was made possible due to the corporation of the Commissioner for insurance and the Commission. Further, and as we are all aware, in ensuring the continuity and success of this project, to put the necessary collaborative pillars in place, the Fire Service, following the unanimous ratification at the National Fire Service Directors conference in Jos on 29th June 2021, appointed us, NL Global as consultants to the Fire Service and we have been entrusted to engage with NAICOM as it relates to the Fire Service in all ramifications. We NL Global once again assure you that we shall do all in our power to deliver success. This partnership between the Fire Service, (who we the consultant be the representative), and NAICOM is absolutely necessary as section 65 of the Insurance Act 2003, not only provides for all public buildings in the Federation to be insured, but in subsection 4, it provides that 0.25 per cent of the net premium received by every direct insurer on policies issued from public buildings shall be paid quarterly by every insurer into the Fire Services Maintenance Fund. These proceeds collated into this Fund by the Commission shall be disbursed to the Fire Service for the purpose of providing grant or equipment. The existence of this Funds and the prudent utilization of same, can turn the tide in the Fire Service in achieving its mandate. This Fund would certainly make issues of lack of equipment a story of the past in the Fire Sector in Nigeria. However, to make this a reality, all parties must play their part. NAICOM is a body who shall ensure remittances are made into the funds and shall disburse such remittances to the Fire Service Quarterly, while the Fire Service shall enforce Section 65 of the Insurance Act, by ensuring that all public building in the Federation carry a valid policy. It is pertinent that both institutions work in tandem with one another and promote transparency in their dealing to realize the vision which has been set forth by the CG. Essentially, the purpose of this workshop is to raise awareness on this project and to serve as a brainstorming opportunity for all parties. This would enable us to strengthen this collaboration and achieve our goals. Thank you.
