By David Akinmola
With the ongoing recapitalization expected to strengthen underwriting capacity across the insurance industry, operators have intensified calls for deeper collaboration with Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, arguing that retaining more energy risks and insurance premiums within the country is critical to deepening local content, boosting domestic capital formation and accelerating economic growth.
The industry maintained that a stronger alliance between insurers and oiland gas operators would not only reduce capital flight from offshore placement of high-value risks but also position Nigerian underwriters to pay a more strategic role in financing investments, supporting indigenous energy companies and advancing the objectives of the Nigeria Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025.
The Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Royal Exchange Plc, Mrs. Idu Okeahialam, made the call while delivering the keynote address at the Suppernews Nigeria Local Content Confab 2026 and the ornisation’s 10th anniversary celebration in Lagos.
Speaking on the theme,”Local Content and Digitalisation: Building Synergy between the Oil and Gas and Insurance Sectors for Inclusive Growth,” Okeahialam said the next phase of Nigeria’s economic development must be driven by stronger collaboration among strategic sectors, innovation, digital transformation and investments capable of unlocking sustainable value.
According to her, although Nigeria has made remarkable progress in implementing local content within the oil and gas industry, the country must now extend that progress to indigenous financing insurance, technology, technical expertise and enterprise risk management.
She described insurance as critical economic infrastructure that provide the confidence required for investment, financing and long-term business sustainability, particularly in a capital-intensive sector such as oil and gas.
Okeahialam said retaining more oil and gas insurance premiums within Nigeria would strengthen domestic capital, expand underwriting capacity, create employment opportunities and depend professional expertise across the financial services industry.
“The relationship between the oil and gas and insurance services sectors must evolve beyond a transactional arrangement into a strategic partnership.
By strengthening local insurance capacity, we strengthen local content retain greater economic value within Nigeria and accelerate national development,” she said.
She also identified digitalization as key driver of competitiveness, noting that artificial intelligence, cloud computing, automation, data analytics and the Internet of Things are transforming business operations while creating new categories of cyber and operational risks.
According to her, insurers must move beyond indemnifying losses to becoming strategic risk advisers that help businesses anticipate emerging threats, improve restilience and strengthen operational efficiency through technology-driven risk solutions.
Okeahialam envisioned closed collaboration among insurers, oil and gas companies, regulators, technology firms and investors through integrated data-sharing platforms and predictive analytics to improve underwriting reduce losses and enhance business performance.
She further stressed that the benefits of local content and digitalization should extend beyond large corporations to small and medium-sized enterprises, women-owned businesses, technology innovators, young professionals host communities.
Earlier, Publisher, Suppernews Nigeria, Ngozi Onyeakusi, said the conference was designed to promote dialogue on leveraging technology, policy reforms and local content implementation to strengthen collaboration between the oil and gas and insurance sectors.
She noted that with the enactment of the Nigeria Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025 and the ongoing recapitalization programme, Nigerian insurers are better positioned to retain large oil and gas risks, strengthen local underwriting capacity and compete more effectively with foreign markets.
