Yemisi Izuora
The Abia State Governor, Dr Alex Otti, has assured of his administration commitment to improve people’s knowledge of insurance in the State.
To achieve the desired outcome the Governor has set up a working committee within to collaborate with the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB) on creating awareness about insurance in the state.
The disclosure was made during a business visit by the President of the NCRIB, Mrs Ekeoma Ezeibe, alongside a delegation from the Council, to the Abia State governor.
The report said that Otti had been represented at the inauguration of the third female NCRIB president in Lagos, where she put forth the one-insurance-industry theme as the anchor of her administration.
A statement from NCRIB read, “The Governor, who was enthused by the new Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act 2025, disclosed that he had constituted a high-level working team within his government to work with the NCRIB in coming up with practical and sustainable ways the insurance awareness initiative, for which Abia State was being proposed as a pilot project, would be successful.”
In addition, Otti was also said to have underscored the need for younger professionals to be involved in the insurance collaboration for sustainability, drawing reference from the Abia Leadership Academy, which he noted had successfully trained about 1,000 young people in the state.
Also, in recognition of the importance of insurance brokers in the propagation of insurance in Nigeria and particularly Abia State, Otti also expressed support for the 2026 Chief Executive Officers’ Retreat (CEOs’ Retreat) of the Council, holding in Abia State in June this year.
Earlier, Ezeibe had explained to the governor the provisions of the NIIRA 2025 law, underscoring the place of insurance brokers and particularly aspects that spelt out compulsory insurances, part of which she said highlighted the duty of care which the governments had towards their citizens.
She said the choice of Abia State for the pilot insurance awareness project and the forthcoming CEOs Retreat was strategic and based on the accomplishments of the current government, coupled with the need to take insurance to the eastern part of the country in a bid to catalyse the required socio-economic growth of the region.
Ezeibe laid out the benefits of compulsory insurance under the law, some of which she noted were job creation, encouragement of investment, value creation, security and stability, healthcare access and consumer protection.
According to her, sustainability remains central to the success of economic interventions, describing insurance as a vital tool for business continuity, protection of public assets and private investments, as well as for strengthening the social contract between government and citizens.