By ROSEMARY ONUOHA

Industrial & General Insurance Plc has continued with part of the strategic restructuring initiated by the late Executive Vice Chairman Mr. Remi Olowude by appointing three professionals as board members.

They are Mr. Yayale Ahmed; Prof. Oladapo Afolabi, both former heads of service of the federation, and Mr. Ken Aigbinode, a chartered accountant.

A statement by the Principal Manager, Corporate Communications, Mr. Steve Ilo, said that their appointment was unanimously ratified by shareholders of the insurance company at its 21st annual general meeting held in Lagos.

Ilo said that they will fill existing vacancies on the board some of which arose following the death of some members, including two founding Directors, Pa Ola Vincent and Dr. Abdulateef Adegbite. The company’s Founder and Executive Vice Chairman, Mr. Remi Olowude, also passed away on 26 September, 2014 after a brief illness.

“This is part of a phased repositioning of the company as envisioned by the late EVC. It is an ongoing reform aimed at engendering a more vibrant company that will pursue vigorously the late founder’s vision of a world class organisation.

“We are poised to set new standards for competition in product innovation, service delivery and best practice, while delivering great value to all stakeholders. IGI is equipped with all the essential material, intellectual and human resources for driving this transformation. We are therefore approaching the future with confidence and great expectations.”

A native of Bauchi State, Ahmed has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration both from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. He also has honorary Doctorate Degrees in Law and of Letters awarded by the University of Abuja and Bayero University, Kano respectively. He was appointed Head of Service of the Federation in 2000 and the Secretary to The Government of The Federation in 2008.

Afolabi, who has a PhD in Applied Chemistry, won a fellowship at Howard University, Washington as an International Atomic Energy Agency Fellow in 1983. He played a major role in organising the first Ecological Summit in 1988, which led to creation of the Federal Ministry of Environment. He had a flourishing career in the civil service and was appointed Head of Service in 2010.

With experience in financial sector spanning over 25 years, Kenneth Aigbinode began his banking career in Barclays Bank in 1975. He worked for 10 years (1983 -1993) in Nigerian-American Merchant Bank, including a 6-month credit internship in Boston with the bank’s affiliate, Bank of Boston, USA. Between 1998 and 2003, he was in Fidelity Union Merchant Bank where he rose to become the Acting Managing Director. He oversaw the bank’s transformation from merchant banking to commercial banking, before joining New Nigeria Bank in 2004 as an Executive Director. The Central Bank of Nigeria engaged him for 6 months in 2005 as part of an Interim Management Board to oversee the affairs of Assurance Bank towards an orderly liquidation.  Since 2005, Aigbinode has been consulting in telecommunications. He currently oversees the telecoms portfolio of IGI Plc as Group Director.