Nigeria: Government forms takaful board
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | Apr 2015
Nigeria’s federal government has inaugurated an advisory council for the implementation of takaful as part of ongoing reforms in the insurance sector.
Minister of State for Finance Bashir Yuguda said the board’s inauguration comes at a time when the country’s insurance industry is gearing towards moving the economy to greater heights among developing nations.
This, he said, was the result of the National Insurance Commission’s (NAICOM’s) resolve to commit to the National Financial Inclusion Strategy, launched by the federal government in 2012.
Mr Yuguda said: “The development of the operational guidelines for the regulation of takaful insurance business in Nigeria by NAICOM heralds an important financial inclusion platform. Your role as advisory council for the regulator is to serve as an additional layer for addressing issues that may arise from takaful operators’ regarding Shariah compliance in takaful undertakings.
“In this era of risk management and risk-based approach to financial service regulation, you will appreciate that Shariah non-compliance is identified as the top most in ranking of risks in Islamic finance.”
He called on members of the advisory council to deploy their experience in discharging their responsibilities.
The Commissioner for Insurance, Mr Fola Daniel, said the inauguration was another step toward the implementation of takaful guidelines.
The advisory council will be headed by a Chairman, Professor Dawud Noibi.