President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has approved the re-appointment of Mr. Fola Daniel as Nigeria’s Commissioner for Insurance and Chief Executive Officer of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) for a second tenure of four years. He was first appointed in August 2007 and has successfully completed his first tenure. The President’s approval was conveyed in a letter signed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation Senator Anyim Pius Anyim.
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Mr. Fola Daniel, a veteran underwriter and an administrator of high repute currently leads the management team. He studied in Nigeria and the United Kingdom. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Insurance Institute, London, the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (FIIN) and, the British Institute of Management. Prior to his appointment as Commissioner for Insurance in 2007, Mr. Daniel was the Managing Director of Globe Reinsurance Plc. With experience spanning over 30 years, he has worked in various capacities at Senior Management level. He was a Branch Manager and later Northern Area Manager of Great Nigeria Insurance Co. Ltd in 1986.
In 1989, he joined Globe Reinsurance Plc as Underwriting Manager. He rose to the position of Assistant General Manager (Technical) from where he was appointed by the Federal Government as Executive Director (Operations) of Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC). He was later appointed the Managing Director/CEO of the Corporation in 1994. During his tenure, the Corporation witnessed a phenomenal change in fortune from a hitherto loss position to a profit making organization. He returned to Globe Reinsurance Plc as Managing Director/CEO in 2004 after he successfully completed two-term tenure of 10 years at NAIC.
Mr. Fola Daniel is a visiting lecturer and a Member of the Governing Board of the West African Insurance Institute, Banjul, The Gambia (WAII) as well as the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN).
A veteran insurance underwriter and an administrator of high repute, Mr. Daniel is a Fellow of the Chartered Insurance Institute, London, Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria, CIIN and the British Institute of Management.
His re-appointment as NAICOM boss is a victory for positive continuity following the commission’s remarkable achievements in repositioning the Nigerian insurance industry in the past four years.
He became the CFI in 2007 at a time the industry faced upheaval caused by a flawed consolidation exercise. As the industry struggled then to cope with the crisis, it needed a purposeful regulatory body with visionary leadership, which Mr Daniel gave, to the satisfaction of all industry players.
In the past four years, NAICOM has provided the needed regulatory platform upon which the quality of service to policyholders has improved significantly. The agency kicked-started the process of sanitising and transforming the industry to meet international best practices in 2007 by first resolving all the problems associated with the recapitalisation/consolidation exercise.
One of the major steps the commission took to ensure the emergence of a very vibrant and strong insurance industry that is capable of competing with its peers globally is the formulation of an initiative code-named Market Development and Restructuring Initiative (MDRI).
Amongst the cardinal objectives of the MDRI is the deepening of insurance penetration in Nigeria and the commencement of the enforcement of compulsory insurances which have been made compulsory by law as enshrined in sections 64 and 65 of the Insurance Act 2003.
This programme has been launched successfully in the six geo political zones of the country including Lagos and Abuja. Plans have reached advanced stage to commence full implementation by September 01, 2011.
On receipt of his re-appointment letter, Mr. Daniel promised that the National Insurance Commission will continue its drive of ensuring the insurance industry contributes to economic growth of the nation . Going forward, he says the commission will focus on consolidating on its achievements in the past four years while striving to break new grounds and build industry capacity.
