The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), yesterday defended that the purchase of the building for its new Academy went through due process and was approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC).
The clarification follows recent media reports alleging that the Commission had deceived the FEC into approving the purchase of a “ready to use magnificent office complex,” rather than an uncompleted building at N4 billion.
In a statement in Abuja, the Commission said the management, through the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, had made a presentation to FEC for the purchase.
NAICOM explained that the presentation was for approval to acquire an uncompleted property to be used as NAICOM Academy and office accommodation, which was followed by another approval from its immediate past Governing Board.
The Commission said all documents relating to the property clearly stated that the property was in an uncompleted state, and will eventually serve as the Commission’s new head office.
Adequate due diligence was conducted on the property for acquisition and all provision was made in the 2022 approved annual budget of the Commission for the purpose of acquiring the building for the Commission.
It noted that the Academy is meant to address the knowledge gap in the insurance sector regulation and supervision not only in Nigeria but across Africa.
It will also address the problem of low insurance penetration, entrench the culture of protection in every part of the country and enhance surveillance in the geopolitical zones.
The statement reads in part: “The Commission had prior to the FEC approval, obtained a “No Objection” from the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) following the valuation of the property by the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing.
“Adequate due diligence was conducted on the property for acquisition and all provision was made in the 2022 approved annual budget of the Commission for the purpose of acquiring the building for the Commission.
“The expansion of the Commission’s infrastructural facilities is inevitable thus the Commission requires a befitting office accommodation to curtail any future space crises.”
