President Goodluck Jonathan has said that the privatisation and deregulation policy of the government has created a level field for the private sector to participate in driving all sectors of the economy.

Jonathan said this when the President of Sierra-Leone, Bai Koroma, conferred on him the honour of the Grand Patron of the West Africa Insurance Institute, WAII, on Wednesday at the Presidential Villa inAbuja.

He said that the privatisation exercise saw the substantial divestment of the federal government’s interest in two previously state-owned insurance companies in the country.

“We have learnt from recent economic turmoil that supporting transparent and efficient regulation of financial services sectors without undue interference is in our best interest,” he said.

The President appreciated the governing council, the institute and its entire members for the honour done him and the country.

Earlier, Koroma said the honour was in recognition of the leading role Nigeria had played in the affairs of West Africa, particularly the support for the establishment and functioning of the WAII.

“Today, we are here to say thank you to Nigeria and to the President for the leadership he has continued to show. At the establishment of the institute, support was provided by Nigeria, most of the funding and expertise that were required were provided by Nigeria,” he said.

The Sierra-Leone President also hinged his leadership success story on the training he got from the institute.

“The fact that I am succeeding in providing leadership in Sierra-Leone is as a result of the training I acquired from the institute and the experience that I have also acquired from what has been happening in Nigeria,” Koroma said.

The institute was established in 1978 by the West Africa Insurance Companies’ Association in collaboration with the UN Conference on Trade and Development Content in Monrovia, Liberia.

It aims to train and develop technical insurance manpower for the insurance sector of West Africa.

The institute, which has graduated more than 4,000 insurance professional now has its headquarters in Banjul, The Gambia

The governing council is composed of representatives from member countries.

They are seven members from Nigeria, four from Ghana, and three each from Liberia and Sierra-Leone.