Business
Cornerstone Hails Insurance Best Practices
Cornerstone Insurance has commended professional brokers and other stakeholders in the collective drive to enhance the ethics and compliance with best practices in the Nigerian Insurance Industry.
Cornerstone Insurance recorded the highest gross premium earning in its 18 years of existence underwriting N3.8 billion in 2008, in spite of the adoption of a wholly ethnical approach to insurance business.
Mr. Adedotun Sulaiman, chairman Cornerstone Insurance Plc, at the yearly general meeting of the company in Lagos recently, said the top line performance of the company was due to supports from professional brokers, corporate Nigerian, institutions, businesses operators in the formal and informal sectors and individual policy holders.
According to him, despite choosing the ethnical route and emphasising that it will not pay bribe to acquire business, the company had tremendous support and patronage from professional brokers which saw it recording its all-time high gross premium of N3.8 billion.
Sulaiman said 80 per cent of Nigeria’s insurance businesses are controlled by brokers, which underlined their importance as strategic business partners are influencing factors in the drive to reposition the Nigerian insurance industry.
He called for closer collaboration between brokers and underwriters in the country to enable the industry give the highest value to policy takers adding that all stakeholders stand to benefit in the growth of the industry.
“Cornerstone as a responsive and transparent company, will always meet its obligation to brokers and those on whose behalf they placed their insurance risk with Cornerstone”, Sulaiman said.
He assured shareholders that the Company’s definitive strategic medium term growth plan would translate into significant shareholders’ value in the years ahead.
He said the company has undertaken comprehensive renew of its process and resources and already implementing measures to realise the company’s vision of being the leading insurance-based financial services company in Nigeria. According to him, the company’s unwavering commitment to enshrining an ethical culture and promoting best business practices informed its resolve to put in place a robust governance structure, which importance in the creation of shareholder value cannot be overemphasised.
We are taking sure and steady steps, more than ever before, to take advantage of the opportunities and are confident that the prospects are bright.
We are strengthening the leadership of the business – Life, General and Financial Services and intensifying our brand reputation in line with our corporate mission to deliver value beyond the expectations of stakeholders”, Sulaiman said.
He pointed out that in spite of the recession in the financial markets, the company has maintained its focus on building the company for sustainable success and leadership.
He noted that the company was constantly engaging its customers to identify and create tailor-made solutions to meet their needs as part of efforts to deepen existing market share and break new ground.
He urged shareholders and other stakeholders to support the on-going efforts by the company to redefine Nigerian insurance practice along ethical line noting that it is possible to business successfully without engaging in unethical practices.
He added that the nature of insurance business as a long-term business also requires understanding and patience given the ups and downs that sometimes characterise investments.
He said the company’s determination to ensure prompt claim payment irrespective of the global and national macro-economic conditions and the recession in the stock market adversely affected the performance of the company in 2008.
He noted that many one-off costs such as rebranding and relocation of the head office of the company in 2008 would not reoccur and as such mitigate costs while significantly adding value to the business.
He said the board took a courageous decision to make almost full provisions for the potential loss in the market value of its investments, although the recovering trend at the stock market suggests that the potential loss is unlikely to crystallise.
Audited report and accounts of Cornerstone Insurance for the year ended December 31, 2008 showed significant improvements in the top line and bottom-line with group gross premium rising but 37 per cent from N2.7 billion in 2008. Profit before tax and diminution in value of investment jumped by 76 per cent to N678.9 million in 2008 as against N386.6 million in 2007.
A provision of N1.11 billon as diminutions in value of investments however impacted negatively on the bottom-line, leaving the company with a net loss of N419.5 million in 2008 compared with a net profit of N325 million in 2007.
Sulaiman however assured shareholders that the company would deliver better results in 2009 noting the interim reports for the first half of the year showed significant improvements.
The Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited (NIGCOMSAT), the country’s satellite operator, has called for immediate promolgation of policy action that will enable the country to harness the potentials of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
NIGCOMSAT, also warned that Nigeria risks missing out on Africa’s projected $1.2trillion share of the global AI economy by 2030.
Managing Director of NIGCOMSAT, Nkechi Egerton-Idehen, disclosed this in a statement issued at the weekend following her participation in the Meeting of the National Council for Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy.
“Artificial intelligence is reshaping industries, economies, and societies worldwide, with projections that it will contribute up to $15.7trillion to the global economy by 2030. Africa stands to gain $1.2trillion of this if the right policies and innovations are in place”, Idehen said, citing a PricewaterhouseCoopers report.
The NIGCOMSAT MD underscored the transformative potential of AI in agriculture, highlighting its applicability in Benue State, widely regarded as Nigeria’s “food basket.”
According to her, machine learning tools could revolutionize agricultural practices by improving pest detection and optimizing planting schedules using satellite imagery.
“AI offers us the chance to not only flourish economically but also to achieve food security. However, we must ask ourselves if we are prepared to manage this technology responsibly”, she added.
Idehen also noted that internet access remains a significant barrier to AI adoption in Nigeria.
“For AI tools to be effective, basic digital infrastructure is essential. Addressing this gap must be a priority.
“AI is happening. We have the opportunity to manage this technology revolution responsibly, both in Africa and globally, through innovation and governance”, she said.
In August 2024, the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy released a draft National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, aiming to position Nigeria as a global leader in AI.
Corlins Walter
The Chairman of Emohua Local Government Council, Chief David Omereji, has said the council has so far spent over N1 billion for the electrification of communities in the area.
Omereji said this while addressing staff of the council at the council headquarters recently.
He said the move was part of his administration’s resolve to ensure peace and development of the LGA.
According to him, the Council spent about N29 million on monthly basis for the maintenance of the Emohua Local Vigilante group known as OSPAC, with each member being paid a stipend of N100, 000 monthly.
He diaclosed that 11 out of the 14 wards are currently enjoying electricity, while efforts are on to light-up the remaining ones.
“I also want to use this opportunity to inform the political class for purposes of records and for the understanding of the people that the Council under my watch have done more than enough”, he said .
The Emolga boss explained that all that have been achieved were through the personal effort of the Council, without support from anybody as rumoured in some quarters.
Omereji further reaveled that a number of other projects, including roads, fencing of schools, hospitals, courts premises, and reconstruction of some abandoned buildings at the Council Headquarters are being undertaken by his administration.
He enjoined the people of the area to support his administration’s drive to bring purposeful development to the LGA.
The Emohua Council boss, who reiterated his hatred for noise making, stated that his works would speak for him, and solicited the support of staff of the council and the entire people of the area.
He noted the fact that some people may not be happy with his achievements, saying that he would remain focused, while advising critics of his government to do so constructively with facts and figures.
King Onunwor
The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) has raised some ethical questions over a Financial and Technical Services Agreement (FTSA) between Sahara Energy and West African Gas Limited (WAGL), an affiliate of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC).
MOSOP said the agreement was not done in good faith, not in the interest of the Nigerian people, and did not follow due process.
Foremost Ogoni born activist and MOSOP leader, Fegalo Nsuke, who made this known in Abuja, weekend, described the Sahara-WAGL deal as fraudulent, deceptive and an insult on the intelligence and integrity of the Nigerian nation.
Nsuke called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to cancel that FTSA between Sahara Energy and WAGL, noting that the agreement is fraught with irregularities and deceptive.
“What Sahara and the NNPC did in the FTSA between Sahara and WAGL is shameful and depicts high level corruption in public service of our country.
“WAGL is an affiliate of Sahara and the NNPC. How then can Sahara go into an agreement with its own affiliate? It’s as good as going into an agreement with itself. This is deceptive and fraudulent”, Nsuke said.
He continued that “Sahara Energy is certainly not a company the Ogoni people want on their soil and we are calling on Mr. President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to terminate any deal between the NNPC and Sahara Energy over OML 11, and to allow for an inclusive arrangement that considers a fair treatment of the Ogoni people in the distribution of revenues from natural resource extraction on Ogoni soil.
“The last Ogoni Congress has been unequivocal on the Ogoni demand for justice and has given a clear path to resolve the three decade old conflict between all critical parties.
“It will be good to explore this path to peace and development for Ogoni and for our country”.
Nsuke accused Sahara Energy and the NNPC of frustrating the progress made by MOSOP to achieve a permanent solution to the Ogoni problem.
He urged a presidential intervention with deep consideration for a fair treatment of the Ogoni people in order to permanently address the problem.
He noted that Sahara Energy should give up on the Ogoni area to allow for an engagement in the interest of the country and the people.
Recall that MOSOP and Sagara Energy have recently been engaged in a row in what MOSOP describes as an unholy relationship between Sahara Energy and the NNPC over OML 11.
MOSOP expressly rejected Sahara Energy and called for a fair treatment of the Ogoni people in natural resource extraction in Ogoni.
It noted that Ogoni people, led by MOSOP, paid the sacrifice to take the oil from Shell, hence “the position of MOSOP must be taken into consideration in decisions relating to resumption of oil production in Ogoni”.