By Taiye Olayemi
The outgoing President of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN), Mrs Yetunde Ilori, has urged her successor to maintain collaboration among industry stakeholders and continue the reforms started by previous administrations.
Ilori gave the advice in Lagos during her virtual valedictory news conference, where she reviewed her tenure under the EPIC Agenda.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the investiture of Mr Akinjide Orimolade as the 53rd President of CIIN will hold on Friday.
“Nobody can achieve anything alone. We need people, so collaboration must continue.
“The foundation has already been laid and strengthened, and my successor has a platform to build upon, just as I built on what my predecessors started, so I expect him to come and do same,” she said.
She said the highlights of her two-year tenure were expanding insurance education, raising public awareness and empowering young professionals.
She explained that EPIC, which stands for Education, Professionalism, Institutional Recognition and Capacity Building, served as the guiding framework for the institute’s activities in the last two years.
According to her, the achievements recorded during the period were made possible through collaboration across the insurance industry, not by individual efforts.
She said, “The achievements recorded during this tenure belong to the entire insurance industry because everyone worked together to make the EPIC agenda successful.”
Ilori noted that the institute’s annual Insurance Week was transformed into a nationwide awareness campaign featuring market outreaches, public engagements and school programmes.
She said the institute also introduced innovation programmes for youths, including an insurance hackathon where students, insurance practitioners and technology experts developed solutions for the future of the industry.
“We wanted young people to know that insurance is a profession for the future.
“Through the hackathon, we showed them opportunities in insurance, technology and innovation,” she said.
Ilori explained that the institute produced two insurance education books for children aged four to 10 and 11 to 16 to introduce insurance concepts at an early age.
She said the books were already being distributed to schools to promote insurance literacy among children.
The outgoing president also highlighted the institute’s collaboration with stakeholders, including the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), the Federal Ministry of Youth Development and other industry bodies, to train one million youths on insurance through a digital platform.
She said the programme was designed to improve insurance knowledge, create employment opportunities and encourage more Nigerians to embrace insurance.
Ilori also listed the institute’s contribution to the successful passage of the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA 2025) as one of the landmark achievements of her administration.
She said the institute strengthened engagement with its diaspora members, organised directors’ conferences, upgraded facilities at the College of Insurance and Financial Management, and secured donations, including a modern Information Technology laboratory.
According to her, CIIN also expanded partnerships with universities, promoted internship opportunities for students and collaborated with other insurance bodies under the “One Insurance” initiative to deepen industry unity.
“If there is anything I have enjoyed while in office, it is collaboration. Everyone came together to ensure that insurance takes its rightful position in Nigeria’s economy,” Ilori said.
She expressed optimism that the initiatives introduced under the EPIC agenda would be sustained by future administrations to further develop the insurance profession.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Folasade Adeniran