By Ubong Ukpong, Abuja

The House of Representatives Committee on Insurance and Actuarial Matters has adopted the 2024 budget performance and the 2025 budget estimates of the National Insurance Commission (NICOM) and the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC).

The two separate budget estimates were adopted after presentations by the Commissioner for Insurance, Olusegun Ayi and the Managing Director (MD), NDIC, Bello Hassan at the budget defence, held by the Committee on Monday.

In his presentation earlier, the MD NDIC, Bello Hassan informed the Committee that the NDIC is a self-funding agency.

He said, “We found out operations from the premiums we received from participating financial institutions.

While giving a highlight of NDIC’s 2024 budget performance, he said that it was as of September 2024.

He added,” We have the figures as at December, but when the request comes, we were asked to submit the management accounts as at September 2024. So that’s why these numbers are as of September 2024″.

On the 2025 budget estimate, he said that NDIC intends to generate a gross income of N433.9 billion, before target funding.

Hassan added, “And when you less target funding of N73.9 billion, we expect to realize a total income of N360.1 billion in the year 2025. 50 percent of this income is supposed to go to the Consolidated Revenue Fund in line with the Fiscal Responsibility Act and the circular issued by the Honorable Minister”.

In his presentation, the NAICOM’s Commissioner for Insurance, Olusegun Ayi informed that the Commission has a budget estimate of N29.931 billion for the 2025 fiscal year.

He said, “And this is broken down into two major sources of revenue, the first being the Insurance Levy. The Insurance Levy is projected to be N17.6 billion, while fees and penalties is projected to be N12.3 billion, giving a total of N29.9 billion.

“But out of this, Mr Chairman, 50% will be going to the consolidated revenue fund by way of auto deduction. The balance is N14.96 billion, which will be the available total IGR for the commission to operate. I will not make too much comment in this regard, but I will jump to the expenditure side.

“On the expenditure side, Mr Chairman, we have a gross total expenditure of N14.906 billion, which again is broken down into recurrent expenditure of N13.03 billion, and a capital expenditure of N1.873 billion. In this regard, I think there have been some ambitions on the part of the commission.

“Because we intend to be able to within this very modest budget, be able to carry out effectively the business of regulating the sector and be able to make the desired difference. We desire to be that sector that will continue to give the needed, so called, the needed backing to the Nigerian economy”.

The two heads of the agencies pleaded with the Committee for a speedy passage of the Insurance Reform Bill 2024 which is before the National Assembly.