Insurers express excitement on Thomas’ confirmation as substantive Commissioner for Insurance
Tope Smart, NIA boss
*Pledge to support him to succeed
Insurance underwriters today expressed excitement on the appointment of Mr. Olorundare Sunday Thomas, as the substantive Commissioner for Insurance and Chief Executive Officer of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) by President Muhammadu Buhari, wishing him sucess and pledging their supports.
It should be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari had yesterday approved the appointment of Mr. Sunday Thomas as the substantive Commissioner for Insurance/Chief Executive Officer, National Insurance Commission (NAICOM).
Underwriters who spoke with our correspondent in a telephone interview today expressed their excitement describing Sunday Thomas as insurance professional with many years of cognate experience and as a right fit for the post.
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 that there is going to be a 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.
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 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.
