Aug. 31, 2021

The Lagos State Government has said that adequate insurance arrangements helped the State underwrite losses incurred during the #ENDSARS protest.

Lagos State Commissioner for Finance, Dr. Rabiu Olowo, who stated this in a keynote address at the grand finale of the Lagos State Civil Service Insurance Week with the theme, “If You Can Be Insured: We’ll Bear Your Risk”, explained that the State’s insurance policy helped Lagos with the challenges of replacement, reinstatement and repairs of damaged government property in the aftermath of the protest.

“Also, the COVID-19 pandemic that is still ravaging the entire world is another challenge that was catered for by the insurance industry. The consortium of underwriters provided a ‘special package’ for medical personnel involved in the treatment of COVID patients. This was done in the form of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)”, he said.

The Commissioner, corroborate the views of Governor Sanwo-Olu, saying that embracing an appropriate insurance policy is one of the prudent decisions that anyone can make because different forms of unfortunate incidents happen that cannot be controlled.

He averred that Lagos is forward-thinking and particular about the safety of its workforce and, therefore, insures them against any unforeseen occurrences, just as it pays benefits of deceased employees.

Olowo revealed that the intention of the State Government, as well as that of its partners, to raise the level of awareness on the importance of insurance will be achieved even beyond the expected threshold.

He said, “In addition to raising public awareness about insurance, I am glad to inform this gathering that to make the process of accessing insurance claims by government employees less cumbersome, the Lagos State Ministry of Finance, through its Insurance Department, has concluded zoning the activities of the Department, thereby decentralising its operations.

“The planned decentralisation will take into cognisance the five ‘IBILE’ divisions of the State, where zonal officers will report activities and claims to the headquarters for promptness, efficiency and effectiveness. With the initiative, distance will no longer be a limiting factor to access insurance claims by government employees”, the Commissioner noted.

Also speaking at the event, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Mrs. Oyeyemi Ayoola, unveiled the digitalised insurance platform for Lagos civil servants.

“The Ministry saw gaps in the system and wants to digitalise its insurance processes and remove every form of delay in processing civil servants’ benefits in the State. The unveiling of the initiative will enable each civil servant to fill in details of their beneficiaries using their mobile phones”, she said.

The highpoint of the grand finale of the event was the Raffle Draw segment where Mr. Salawu Dirisu Anataku, a Porter with the Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment and Mrs. Tawakalitu Akindele, Principal Executive Officer with the Ministry of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Relations emerged winners of a car each.

Also, Mrs. Mobolaji Felicia Olabisi and Mr. Adeyemi Akeem Babatunde won two and three bedrooms apartments respectively at the event.