NAICOM denies deceiving Buhari, NEC in purchase of N4bn property in Abuja
National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) says it received approval to purchase an unfinished property for its proposed Academy and office accommodation in Abuja.
Management of the Commission which disclosed this in a statement, Thursday, also refuted allegations of irregularities widely claimed.
It was widely reported that NAICOM had deceived President Muhammadu Buhari and the Federal Executive Council (FEC) into approving the purchase of a new office building in Abuja.
“While the Commission does not intend to join issues with the media, it has become imperative that the general public be availed with the facts as they are.
“It is on this premise that the Commission state as follows:
“That the management of the Commission through the Honourable Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning presented to the Federal Executive Council presided over by His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR an unfinished property for approval to be acquired as NAICOM Academy and office accommodation following the approval by the immediate past Governing Board of the Commission,” the commission n said in the statement.
Continuing, NAICOM said: ‘The Commission had prior the FEC approval, obtained a “No Objection” from the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) following the valuation of the property by the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing.
“Adequate due diligence was conducted on the property for acquisition and all relevant approval were secured by the commission.”
According to NAICOM, provision was made in the 2022 approved annual budget of the Commission for the purpose of acquiring the building for the Commission.
It added that the building is to serve the dual purpose of housing the newly established NAICOM Academy which is an initiative of the present leadership of the Commission to address knowledge gap in the insurance sector regulation and supervision not only in Nigeria but across Africa and beyond and also serve as the new head office of the Commission.
“In order to address the problem of low insurance penetration, entrench the culture of insurance in every part of the country and enhance the effectiveness of its surveillance in all the geopolitical zones of the country, the expansion of the Commission’s infrastructural facilities is inevitable thus the Commission requires a befitting Office accommodation to curtail any future office space crises.
“This clarification has become necessary to clear any doubt in the minds of the public with respect to the process followed by the Commission in its efforts at acquiring the property.”
