House of Representatives Sub-Committee on Capital Market and Institutions has commenced a probe of 25 insurance companies over alleged financial infractions that have reportedly led to significant revenue losses for the federal government.
Chairman of the committee, Hon. Kwamoti Laori, made the disclosure on Monday during a meeting with the management of the companies at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja. Laori said the meeting was convened following petitions alleging statutory violations and non-compliance by the firms, which resulted in the loss of “hundreds of billions” in government revenue.
He said, “This committee is saddled with the responsibility of investigating a petition based on infractions from these insurance companies in respect of the operations and non-compliance with certain statutory provisions.
“And of course, those infractions have resulted in the federal government losing hundreds of billions of revenue from these insurance companies. That is why they are being invited, and each of them has been served and given the extent of their liability, and for them to come in and agree or debunk those liabilities.
“That is the essence of all these things we are doing here—to ensure that what is due to the federal government comes to it through the operations of these private entities,” he added.
He emphasised the National Assembly’s constitutional responsibility to track revenue due to the government and block leakages through legislative oversight. The companies, he said, are expected to clarify their financial positions and either confirm or refute the liabilities attributed to them.
However, he expressed concern that some of the firms had resorted to legal action to halt the investigation. “Some of the companies ran to court and have served the House with the court process. It’s for us and the House to sit down and look at the process,” he added.
Laori said the move by the companies to seek court injunctions could be seen as an attempt to “throw a spanner into the works of the National Assembly.” He also frowned at the absence of Chief Operating Officers (COOs) at the hearings, insisting that only top executives can properly respond to the allegations.
“We have insisted that the Chief Operating Officers appear in person so that they can answer some of the questions. Like you can see, one of the COOs sent somebody that could not answer any of those allegations that are before the committee. That is not good.
“That is why the committee still makes the order that only the COOs will appear in person, so that they can come and answer for these allegations that are against them,” he said.
COURTESY: value.com
