By Bisi Bamishe
SUPERNEWS Nigeria has announced the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Universal Insurance Plc, Dr. Jeff Duru, as the Chairman of it’s highly anticipated annual conference and 10th Anniversary celebration slated for July 7, 2026.
MD Universal Insurance Plc
Similarly, the Group Managing Director/CEO of Royal Exchange Plc, Mrs. Idu Okeahialam will deliver the keynote paper at the annual conference which is presently in its 4th edition.
The conference themed; ‘Local Content & Digitisation: Building Synergy Between Oil & Gas and Insurance Sectors for Inclusive Growth’ will take place at Oriental Hotel, 3 Lekki Road, Victoria Island, Lagos, at 10:00 a.m prompt.
The event is expected to attract regulators, operators, sectors’ chief executives, policymakers, civil society organisations, media practitioners, students, among other stakeholders.
The Commissioner for Insurance and Chief Executive Officer of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Mr. Olusegun Ayo Omosehin, has confirmed his participation as a Special Guest of Honour while the President, the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB) Mrs. Ekeoma Ezeibe will equally grace the occasion.
Erudite and prominent speakers ready for the conference include the Managing Director/CEO, Stanbic IBTC Insurance, Mr Akinjide Orimolade and the Managing Director/CEO Guinea Insurance Plc. Mr Ademola Abidogun.
Others include the MD/CEO Deepshores Energy Limited, Mrs Nneka Obi and Professor Olajide Fadun, of the Department of Insurance and Actuarial Science, University of Lagos.
Speaking on the rationale behind the choice of the conference theme, the Publisher of SUPERNEWS Nigeria and the convener of the epoch making event, Ngozi Onyeakusi, explained that the whole effort was geared providing insight on how both sectors can leverage technology-driven solutions to strengthen synergy, so as to overcome challenges associated with the implementation of Sections 49 and 50 of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act.
She noted that the provisions of Sections 49 and 50 of the Act mandates operators involved in oil and gas activities to ensure all insurable risks connected to their businesses are covered with insurance companies and brokers registered in Nigeria.
The Act further stipulates that where an operator seeks to place an insurable risk offshore, a written approval of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) must first be sought and obtained and that NAICOM, prior to the issuance of the approval, must first determine that local capacity has been fully exhausted.
In a bid to smoothen the implementation and compliance to the Act, the Nigeria Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and NAICOM in 2022 launched the relevant guidelines which was expected to address the loopholes that were identified in implementing the provisions of the Act, particularly, Sections 49 and 50
However, research has shown that insurance firms before now still faced lots of challenges ranging from capital inadequacy among others.
With the birth of the Nigeria Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025, the insurance industry is now positioned for global competitiveness while the ongoing recapitalisation exercise is expected to pave way for big, strong and reliable insurance firms.
The conference therefore provides a veritable platform for robust deliberation on how digitisation, policy reforms, and implementation of local content guidelines can drive inclusive growth and sustainable partnership between the oil & gas and insurance industry.
