• Regulatory action follows failure to meet new capital requirements
• SAN Chukwuma-Machukwu Ume named Receiver, Provisional Liquidator
• Policyholders, creditors warned against unauthorised dealings
The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has revoked the operational licence of the National Insurance Corporation of Nigeria (NICON), paving the way for the takeover and winding up of the insurance company.
NICON, one of Nigeria’s oldest insurance companies, had its operational licence, RIC-049, cancelled by the insurance industry regulator following its failure to meet prescribed regulatory requirements.
Following the revocation, NAICOM appointed Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Chukwuma-Machukwu Ume, as Receiver and Provisional Liquidator of the company.
NICON, which was established by the Federal Government in 1969 under Decree No. 2, was for decades one of the major players in Nigeria’s insurance industry.
In a move aimed at protecting the company’s assets and interests of its stakeholders, the Receiver and Provisional Liquidator issued a public notice directing policyholders, creditors, business partners, governments, the Federal Capital Territory Administration and land registries to channel all matters concerning NICON’s affairs, assets and business to the receiver.
The notice warned that transactions, contracts, commitments or other dealings purportedly undertaken on behalf of NICON, now in liquidation, would not be recognised or honoured without the ratification of the Receiver and Provisional Liquidator.
The takeover effectively transfers control of NICON’s affairs from its former management to the appointed Receiver, who is mandated to secure the company’s assets and records, establish its liabilities and oversee the winding-up process in accordance with the law.
The regulatory action is linked to the implementation of the new minimum capital requirements introduced under the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025.
NAICOM had directed insurance operators to meet the revised capital requirements within the stipulated recapitalisation period, warning that companies that failed to comply risked losing their operating licences.
NICON was among the operators that failed to satisfy the prescribed requirements within the deadline, resulting in the cancellation of its licence.
With the appointment of the Receiver and Provisional Liquidator, attention will now shift to securing the company’s assets, verifying legitimate liabilities and ensuring an orderly winding-up process.
The Receiver is also expected to liaise with NAICOM on issues arising from the liquidation and submit periodic reports on the progress of the exercise.
The interests of policyholders, creditors and other stakeholders are expected to remain central to the process, particularly the verification and settlement of legitimate claims and liabilities.
The appointment of a Receiver and Provisional Liquidator represents a major regulatory intervention, as it removes the affected company from normal business operations and places its affairs under the control of an officer responsible for preserving and realising its assets to meet lawful obligations.
The arrangement is also designed to prevent unauthorised dealings in the company’s assets and ensure that transactions during the liquidation process are properly controlled.
NAICOM has maintained that enforcement of the recapitalisation requirements is aimed at strengthening the financial capacity of Nigeria’s insurance industry and ensuring that only financially sound and adequately capitalised operators remain in business.
The commission recently disclosed that 43 reinsurance companies had successfully met the new minimum capital requirements at the end of the recapitalisation exercise.
