Reactions, excitement as Buhari appoints Sunday Thomas NAICOM boss

Appointment of a substantive Commissioner for Insurance and Chief Executive Officer, National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) by President Muhammadu Buhari for the Nigerian Insurance industry recently has continued to generate reactions and excitement in the industry. EDET UDOH writes.

Insurance underwriters, Shareholders, and other stakeholders have continued to express excitement over the appointment of Mr Olorundare Sunday Thomas as the Commissioner for Insurance and Chief Executive Officer, National Insurance Commission (NAICOM).

It should be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari had on May 2, 2020, approved the appointment of Mr. Sunday Thomas as the substantive Commissioner for Insurance/Chief Executive Officer, National Insurance Commission (NAICOM).

Underwriters, Shareholders, and other stakeholders who spoke with the Blueprint in a telephone interview expressed their excitement describing Sunday Thomas as insurance professional with many years of cognate experience and as a right fit for the post.

Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA)

According to the Chairman, Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) who is also the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, NEM Insurance Plc, Mr. Tope Smart “When you look at his credentials, he was a supervisor before, he was also the Director General of the Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA), so he understands the terrain very well, having been an operator and a regulator at one point or the other.

“So his appointment is well deserved. He is well fit for the job and he is eminently qualified to be appointed Commissioner for Insurance and I have no doubt that he will succeed in this endeavour particularly when you look at his experiences.”

When asked what the industry is expecting from Sunday Thomas, Tope said, “we expect great transformation in the Nigerian insurance industry; we expect that the industry will be transformed and the potentials of the industry will be realized during his tenure and we will continue to support him to succeed.

Underwriters

Also speaking, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Law Union & Rock Insurance Plc, Mr. Ademayowa Adeduro, expressed excitement on Thomas’s appointment, describing him as a professional insurance person with tract records.

“Mr. Thomas has a track record of performance and since he came in as Acting Commissioner some of the steps he has taken have delighted the industry. With this confirmation by the authority of the law, he will pilot the recapitalization to its logical conclusion and we believe that other reforms will come during his tenure. We wish him all the best and success in his new appointment,” he prayed.

Expressing his delight on Thomas’s appointment as the substantive Commissioner for Insurance and Chief Executive Officer of NAICOM, the Deputy General Manager, Marketing and Corporate Communications, Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc, Mr. Segun Bankole, described his appointment as a round spade in the round hole.

“Considering the profile of Mr. Sunday Thomas, he has been a practitioner at one point in time. He has been a Director General of NIA and for a very long time too he has been deputizing, he was at some point Head of Technical for NAICOM. I think he is a well grounded personality and I must say that he is a right fit in the right position and I pray he will be surrounded by people who has the same vision with him; people who have a progressive mind for the growth of the insurance industry. It’s a welcome development.

“When I saw the news this morning, I was to some extent excited and I hope his tenure will be very progressive for the industry as a whole and I would also advise that in manning the operations of NAICOM, to bring to bear some level of candor, some level of professionalism for the industry. I wish him all the best and I hope the industry will feel his impact positively,” he said.

They commended President Muhammadu Buhari for giving the insurance industry a commissioner who understands the feeling of all stakeholders and is determined to take the sector to lofty heights.

Guinea Insurance in a congratulatory message titled “Great Minds Indeed Achieve Great Things” signed by the management and made available to this medium, said “The Board of Directors, management and staff of Guinea Insurance join the entire insurance business community and all professionals of repute in celebrating your confirmation as the substantive Commissioner for Insurance/Chief Executive Officer of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) by his excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari.

“The recognition bestowed on your distinguished self is indicative of your strength of character, high probity and capacity to reinvent and attain feats other considers impossible. Many today are the beneficiaries of your years of selfless and dedicated service to humanity and the insurance industry.

“We seize this momentous occasion to give glory to God for choosing you as the vessel to champion regulatory policies that meet both the insuring and investing public’s expectations and provide an enviable playing field for all insurance professionals in Nigeria.”

President Muhammadu Buhari had on May 2, announced the appointment of Mr Sunday Thomas as substantive Commissioner for insurance/Chief Executive of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM). Until his confirmation, he was serving in a acting capacity.

Shareholders

The Coordinator Emeritus, Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN) Sir Sunny Nwosu, according to inspenonline, congratulated Thomas for his appointment, stressing that what impressed him most about the appointment is Thomas’ knowledge of the workings of the industry.

He applauded Thomas for the wisdom he demonstrated in handling the recapitalisation. “See the way he managed the recapitalisation. When the shareholders observed that the timeline was so short that no insurance company will be able to successfully meet the recapitalisation timetable, we continued to talk and he set-up a stakeholder meeting with shareholders and other stakeholders and they listened to us and extended the deadline,” he said.

He implored Thomas to live up to the confidence reposed on him. “He is okay, but he should not use his period of acting to impress us. He must make sure that he continues in that way and listen to all stakeholders in order to take a just decision that will be right for everybody. I congratulate him on behalf of shareholders on his new appointment and also to let him know that he is there to serve us both shareholders and other stakeholders,” he added.

He posited that the appointment also negated former traditions. “For the first time, the government did not regionalized the appointment, professional competence has come to play in this, so we appreciate the appointment,” he submitted.

Brokers

Executive Secretary, Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Broker (NCRIB), Fatai Adegbenro; said: “We thank the President for another good decision. It is the beginning of a new dawn in the insurance industry. Thomas has demonstrated his capability and competence to give the industry a new direction as evident in his leadership style during the period of acting as the CFI.

“He restored peace and promote cooperation and cohesion among the operators. His goal has been to grow the industry for the betterment of the nation’s economy and all stakeholders. We wish him a fruitful and beneficial tenure.”

Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN)

Director-General, Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN), Richard Borokini, said the appointment is a welcomed development as Thomas is an insurance man through and through and a thoroughbred insurance professional.

He maintained that Thomas grown through the ranks to rise to the apex and has the required, knowledge skill and experience to build on the achievements of his predecessors and move the Insurance industry to greater heights.

“He has exhibited, skill, and shown far reaching knowledge of the Insurance industry during his stinct as acting commissioner. His confirmation is a testament to the good work he has done. It surely signals exciting times and better things to come for the industry and we assure him the total support of the Institute,” he posited.

Other stakeholders

Principal Partner/Chief Executive Officer, Peninscope Professional Warranty Limited, Peter Adediji, said the appointment is a welcomed development to the insurance industry as a whole, stressing that Thomas is rightly the round peg in a round hole and has all that it takes for the job.

“Since he came in July 2019, he has been able to demonstrate his technical capability in a friendly manner. He is also a freemixer without compromising his integrity

I join other wellwishers to congratulate our new Commissione for Insurance,” he said.
A stakeholder, Chief Nwakibie Patrick Egbuniwe, said: “I join in congratulating Thomas. A seasoned professional who has great respect and listens to the views expressed by his colleagues for the good of the industry.”

Dotun Ogunwoolu, another stakeholder submitted: “This’s a very well deserved appointment as Thomas is not only a consumate technocrat but also a well groomed administrator who has seen it all from the operators angle and now from the regulatory perspective since 2017. He has been able to stabilize the industry since his assumption of office as the Commissioner for insurance albeit in the acting capacity since July 2019. No doubt his confirmation is a testimony of the confidence the industry stakeholders have in his leadership. I pray for his successful tenure as a substantive Commissioner with imbued wisdom and good health from the Almighty Allah. Congratulations.”