There was joy and excitement within the insurance industry weekend following the appointment of Sunday Thomas, the erstwhile acting commissioner for Insurance as the substantive commissioner for Insurance and CEO of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM).
The announcement of his appointment by President Mohammadu Buhari on Friday night brings to rest agitation and worries from many quarters, as concern has been giving the regulation of the volatile industry to a wrong hand. But the retaining of Thomas was a welcome development, as stakeholders said they can be sure its current successes and progress made in recent past under leadership of Sunday Thomas would continue on hindered, particularly the ongoing recapitalization in the insurance industry.
Stakeholders including shareholders, operators and even industry players from Ghana, South Africa, among others are pouring in their congratulatory messages to wish the new commissioner well.
The statement of Thomas appointment was signed by from Special Adviser, Media and Communications to the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Yunusa Tanko Abdullahi, who described Thomas as having over three decades of experience in the industry as an operator and regulator
The Federal Government had on August 2019 appointed Sunday Thomas, the acting commissioner for Insurance/CEO of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), replacing Mohammed Kari, immediate past commissioner for Insurance whose four years tenure ended 30th July 2019, but was not renewed for second term.
Meanwhile, Thomas had been the Deputy Commissioner for Insurance Technical having been appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari On April 15, 2017.
Prior his appointment in April 2017 as Deputy Commissioner in charge of technical matters at the Commission, Thomas held the position of Director –General at the Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) for seven years from May 2010.
He is a vastly experienced and knowledgeable Insurance Professional with over 35 years uninterrupted service to the Nigerian insurance industry.
During these years, Thomas worked as a Director for seventeen (17) years at the National Insurance Commission from 1992 to December 2009 where at different times, he superintended over different departments in the technical division. He had also worked as an insurance operator for over 10 years and rose to the position of Assistant General Manager at AIICO Insurance Plc until he left in 1992 to join NAICOM.
Thomas is an active participant in the insurance industry activities and had served as member of several Committees not only within the insurance industry but the entire Financial Services Sector. He holds a BSc (Hons) in Actuarial Science and an MBA Finance both from the University of Lagos.
