The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has revealed plans to increase local insurance participation by 70 percent of all insurance risks in the oil and gas industry in the country.
The new Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, Felix Omatsola Ogbe, gave the assurance at the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), office in Abuja when he paid a familiarisation visit to the commission.
The new NCDMB boss also said that the purpose of the visit is to relate himself with the chief executives of institutions that are represented on the NCDMB’s Governing Council as well as explore areas of collaboration.
Ogbe said the NCDMB has renewed its commitment to deepen partnerships with key agencies of the Federal Government to achieve the economic aspirations of the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda, adding that cooperation and teamwork were key to accomplishing any noble objective.
He promised that NCDMB would work closely with NAICOM to review and operationalise the insurance services regulations jointly issued by both agencies in June 2022, to get Nigerian oil and gas companies to patronise local insurance firms and retain spend in the economy.
The Commissioner for Insurance, Sunday Thomas, congratulated the Executive Secretary on his appointment, noting that he would be building on the solid foundation laid by his predecessors.
Thomas described NCDMB as a formidable institution and commended the founding fathers of the Board for their foresight in creating such an important agency.
He also lauded the former Executive Secretaries of the NCDMB for their innovative projects and achievements while in office that added value to the economy.
The commissioner highlighted the importance of insurance as the oxygen of business operations.
He expressed concern that the insurance services regulations that were signed by the commission and NCDMB were yet to be implemented.
It will be recalled that the federal government had set a target of 70 per cent local content for the underwriting of oil and gas risks, implying that 70 per cent of all insurance risks associated with the oil and gas business including prospecting, exploration, drilling, constructions, shipping, distribution, marketing, and transportation are to be insured in Nigeria with registered insurance companies.
However, energy risks are still substantially insured abroad due to low capacity in the local insurance industry.
He urged the new Executive Secretary to address the challenges, hinting that implementing the regulations would bring the needed changes in the insurance sub-sector of the oil and gas industry before being extended to other key sectors of the economy.
