* Insurance Committee Clears Yuguda as AMCON Board Chairman Sunday Aborisade in Abuja The Senate on Tuesday recorded two major milestones in Nigeria’s financial sector, passing a landmark Insurance Regulatory Commission Bill to replace the nearly three-decade-old National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) Act of 1997. Also in a separate development, the Committee on Banking Insurance and other Financial Institutions, overwhelmingly cleared former Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and current Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Lamido Yuguda, for appointment as Chairman of the Board of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON). The insurance reform legislation, described by lawmakers as one of the most comprehensive overhauls of Nigeria’s insurance regulatory framework in decades, seeks to modernise regulation, strengthen consumer protection, enhance financial stability and align the nation’s insurance industry with global best practices. The bill, passed during plenary presided over by the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, followed the adoption of the report of the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions chaired by Senator Mukhail Adetokunbo Abiru (APC, Lagos East). The legislation repeals the National Insurance Commission Act, 1997 and establishes a new Insurance Regulatory Commission with broader supervisory and enforcement powers designed to respond more effectively to the changing dynamics of the insurance industry. Presenting the committee’s report, Abiru told senators that the existing legal framework had become grossly inadequate for regulating a rapidly evolving insurance sector. He said: “The current National Insurance Commission Act 1997 is outdated and does not adequately address the emerging economic growth, needs and development of the insurance business.” According to him, although NAICOM had made significant contributions to regulating insurance companies, brokers and loss adjusters while protecting policyholders and enforcing industry standards, its enabling law had failed to keep pace with international developments. Abiru explained: “Despite its significant contributions, the enabling law has become obsolete, failing to align with current realities and global best practices, and unable to keep pace with the evolving nature of the insurance industry, exposing numerous gaps in the law, necessitating urgent amendments.” He disclosed that the proposed law guarantees the independence of the Insurance Regulatory Commission while substantially expanding its powers to supervise operators and safeguard the stability of the financial system. According to him, the commission would have authority to issue regulations, standards, guidelines and directives, collaborate with domestic and international regulatory institutions, exchange supervisory information and intervene promptly in troubled insurance companies before their problems escalate. He stressed that the strengthened intervention powers would remove bureaucratic bottlenecks that had previously delayed regulatory actions against distressed insurance firms. Abiru said the legislation also introduces stricter corporate governance requirements by prescribing higher qualifications for members of the commission’s governing board. He explained that only individuals with proven competence in insurance, finance, law, risk management and corporate governance would qualify for appointment, thereby ensuring more professional oversight of the industry. The committee chairman further revealed that the bill significantly strengthens enforcement mechanisms by imposing stiffer sanctions on erring operators. According to him, the law provides for heavier financial penalties, suspension of operating licences, additional liabilities for defaulting operators and disqualification of persons responsible for the collapse or regulatory failure of insurance institutions from occupying positions within the industry. Abiru also noted that the legislation broadens the commission’s mandate beyond regulation to include the effective administration, supervision, control, integrity and overall development of insurance business in Nigeria. He said the proposed change of name from the National Insurance Commission to the Insurance Regulatory Commission would eliminate longstanding confusion about the agency’s role and better reflect its statutory responsibility as the country’s insurance regulator. Giving insight into the legislative process, Abiru disclosed that the committee subjected the bill to rigorous scrutiny, including a public hearing held on November 12, 2025. He said more than 50 memoranda and several oral submissions were received fro
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