By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The board of Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc has denied allegations that it was involved in insider dealings, tax evasion and other inappropriate acts.
These allegations were made against the insurer yesterday by the House of Representatives Sub-Committee on Capital Market.
In a statement issued on Monday, the lower chamber of the nation’s parliament threatened to direct the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to take over the management of GNI Plc.
But reacting on Tuesday in a statement signed by its Managing Director, Mrs Cecilia Osipitan, the insurance company said there was never any time it was involved in insider dealings or refused to pay dividends to shareholders as alleged by the reps.
“GNI Plc has put various measures and structures in place to ensure that instances of insider trading do not arise, as such activities will be meted with stern disciplinary actions.
“The company has never received any warning, query or sanctions regarding insider trading from SEC or National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) which both provide regulatory framework for GNI Plc,” Mrs Osipitan said in the statement released to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) today.
She explained that, “The restructuring process put in place by the board and management has boosted the company’s retained earnings of circa negative N2.4 billion in 2009 to negative N0.59 billion in 2017. This improvement in retained earnings was achieved through organic growth only.”
According to her, “The company has been meticulous about making tax remittances to both the state and federal governments and we have up-to-date receipts to corroborate this fact.
“The corporate governance structures in place in GNI Plc is also regulated by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) [and] NAICOM and GNI Plc recently participated in the Corporate Governance Rating System (CGRS), wherein the processes and structures of GNI Plc were reviewed thoroughly and a report was issued by the CGRS team, which ranked GNI Plc high on its corporate governance standards and policies.”
Mrs Osipitan explained that, “The inability of the company’s representatives to attend the committee’s hearing was unavoidable and this was duly communicated to the committee. The company has also forwarded to the committee written responses to the questions raised and will be willing to answer further questions that may arise.”
“Finally, we wish to allay the fears of our stakeholders and the public that the board and management of GNI Plc will ensure that the misconceptions regarding the operations of GNI Plc is resolved with the committee.
“GNI Plc is a company that strives to adhere to all the guidelines and rules of the various agencies that regulate its operations,” the Managing Director concluded.
Adedapo Adesanya