Economy
Amosun Wants Insurance Sector Rebranded
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State has challenged insurance operators in the country to rebrand the industry so as to maximise the untapped potential in the economy.
Mr Amosun made this call while declaring open the Insurance Professionals’ Forum organised by the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN) in Abeokuta, the state capital.
The Governor, represented at the occasion by his Deputy, Mrs Yetunde Onanuga, said insurance firms should make maximum use of the investment opportunities available to them to strengthen their liquidity position to enable them meet the claims of policyholders, companies whenever the need arises.
He said the theme of this year’s forum: The insurance industry, national economic shift & new business realities, could not have been more apt, as there were more than ever before in the history of the nation, the need for diversification of the economy.
Mr Amosun stressed that such effort would help restore public confidence in the ability of the industry to deliver and redeem its obligations to clients.
He observed that many Nigerians were yet to embrace the culture of patronising insurance firms, hence, the need for the Institute to engage in public education and enlightenments programmes that would enlist the interest of the people in the business.
He called on the operators to extend some of their programmes to the rural areas, to enable them tap the potentials at the grassroots.
“There is the need too for insurance companies to redesign their products and services in such a way that would meet the need in the ever changing behavioural pattern of our people. In doing so, concerted efforts should be made to ensure that the economic environment and social behaviour of our people are integrated into the policy formulation and marketing strategy objective of the insurance companies.
“Another area which the insurance industry is yet to fully explore is the life policy and pension insurance scheme. This can really make long term funds available for profitable investment in the insurance sector. It seemed to me that lack of insurance life portfolio has made our insurance companies to be caught in the web of low investments and needless competitions with other actors in the money market,” he Governor said.
Speaking on diversification, Mr Amosun said it had dawned on everybody of the need to diversify the economy to the non-oil sector and as major players, insurance professionals must come up with robust ideas and policies that could help cushion the fall in revenue in the economic process.
“Undoubtedly, as the call for the diversification of the economy is on the increase, and investors are being wooed to invest in agriculture, mining, export promotion, among others, this gathering through robust deliberations, must come up with possible template that would not only assure investors of the safety of their investment, but that would ensure them of insurance driven environment which will bring high yields on their investments.
“Without doubt, the prevailing social economic situation in our economy requires that the Institute should attempt a critical reappraisal of some of the contemporary issues in the professional practice of insurance business in order to promote the industry,” he said.
Commissioner for Insurance, Mohammed Kari, urged insurance professionals to act professionally, adding that failure to observe this tenet in the past caused the industry so much injury.
“The time has indeed come for us to speak professionally and act like the true insurance professionals we claim to be in the course of performing or conducting our business. Our failure to observe this tenet in the past has caused the industry so much reputational injury. I am glad to say the current efforts of the underwriters to change the perception of the public about insurance are timely and laudable. All other sectors should join in with their widow’s might to ensure the success of the project,” he said.
CIIN President, Lady Isioma Chukwu, urged insurance professionals to key into the vision of the government’s economic diversification activities and position the industry appropriately.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
On Tuesday, December 17, 2024, President Bola Tinubu will present the 2025 budget to a joint session of the National Assembly.
The size of the 2025 Appropriation Bill is about N47.9 trillion and would be presented to the parliament for approval.
Speaking at the plenary on Thursday, December 12, 2024, the President of the Senate, Mr Godswill Akpabio, said the presentation by Mr Tinubu would be at the chamber of the House of Representatives.
However, it is not certain if the lawmakers will pass the budget before December 31 to allow for a recent budget cycle of January to December.
Recall that on December 3, the senate approved the Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF/FSP) for 2025 to 2027.
This was after the President presented this the National Assembly on November 19 ahead of the consideration of the 2025 budget proposal.
In the MTEF/FSP, the government said it planned to borrow about N9.22 trillion from local and foreign sources to finance the budget deficit.
It pegged the crude oil benchmark at $75 per barrel and a daily oil production of 2.06 million barrels at an exchange rate of N1,400 to $1, and a targeted gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate of 6.4 percent.
At the plenary today, Mr Akpabio informed his colleagues that, “The President has made his intention known to the National Assembly to present the 2025 budget to the joint session of the National Assembly on December 17, 2024.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria added 150,000 barrels per day to its crude production in November 2024 as it continues to pursue an ambitious 2 million barrels per day target.
According to the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Nigeria’s oil production rose to 1.48 million barrels per day in November, up from 1.33 million barrels per day the previous month.
In its Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR), OPEC revealed that at 1.48 million barrels per day, it is the continent’s leading oil producer, surpassing Algeria’s 908,000 barrels per day and Congo’s 268,000 barrels per day.
Business Post reports that OPEC doesn’t account for condensates, which Nigeria’s accounts for in its broader 2 million barrels per day target.
Despite the surge in production levels, Nigeria is still under producing its 1.5 million barrels per day output quota under a deal involving OPEC and 10 other producers known as OPEC+.
OPEC said it relied on primary data gotten through direct communication, noting that secondary sources reported 1.417 million barrels per day as Nigeria’s crude production in November — up from 1.4 million barrels per day in October.
The data also shows that OPEC’s total oil production among its 12 members rose by 104,000 barrels per day in the month under review.
According to secondary sources, the total of the 12 OPEC countries’ crude oil production averaged 26.66 million barrels per day in November 2024.
“Crude oil output increased mainly in Libya, Iran, and Nigeria, while production in Iraq, Venezuela, and Kuwait decreased”, OPEC said.
“At the same time, total non-OPEC DoC crude oil production averaged 14.01 mb/d in November 2024, which is 219 tb/d higher, m-o-m. Crude oil output increased mainly in Kazakhstan and Malaysia,” the organisation added.
In a related development, OPEC trimmed its 2024 and 2025 oil demand growth forecasts for the fifth time this year.
Now, the cartel expects the world’s oil demand growth at 1.61 million barrels per day from the previously 1.82 million barrels per day.
For 2025, OPEC says the world oil demand growth forecast is now at 1.45 million barrels per day, a 900,000 barrels per day cut from the previously expected 1.54 million barrels per day.
On the changes, OPEC says that the downgrade for this year owes to more bearish data received in the third quarter of 2024 while the projections for next year relate to the potential impact that will arise from US tariffs.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The duo of Afriland Properties Plc and Geo-Fluids Plc crashed the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by a marginal 0.06 per cent on Wednesday, December 11 due to profit-taking activities.
The OTC securities exchange experienced a downfall at midweek despite UBN Property Plc posting a price appreciation of 17 Kobo to close at N1.96 per share, in contrast to Tuesday’s closing price of N1.79.
Business Post reports that Afriland Properties Plc slid by N1.14 to finish at N15.80 per unit versus the preceding day’s N16.94 per unit, and Geo-Fluids Plc declined by 1 Kobo to trade at N3.92 per share compared with the N3.93 it ended a day earlier.
At the close of transactions, the market capitalisation of the bourse, which measures the total value of securities on the platform, shrank by N650 million to finish at N1.055 trillion compared with the previous day’s N1.056 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) went down by 1.86 points to wrap the session at 3,012.50 points compared with 3,014.36 points recorded in the previous session.
The alternative stock market was busy yesterday as the volume of securities traded by investors soared by 146.9 per cent to 5.9 million units from 2.4 million units, as the value of shares transacted by the market participants jumped by 360.9 per cent to N22.5 million from N4.9 million, and the number of deals increased by 50 per cent to 21 deals from 14 deals.
When the bourse closed for the day, Geo-Fluids Plc remained the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 1.7 billion units valued at N3.9 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units worth N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc 297.5 million units sold for N5.3 million.
Also, Aradel Holdings Plc, which is now listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited after its exit from NASD, remained the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 108.7 million units sold for N89.2 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 297.5 million units worth N5.3 billion.
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