Nigeria’s National Insurance Corporation of Nigeria, NICON, has lost its operational license after the National Insurance Commission, NAICOM, revoked its approval over the company’s failure to meet prescribed regulatory requirements.
NICON, established in 1969 by Decree 2 and owned by the Federal Government, had its operational license, marked RIC-049, cancelled by the insurance regulator following its persistent failure to comply with regulatory requirements.
Following the revocation, NAICOM appointed Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chukwuma-Machukwu Ume, as Receiver and Provisional Liquidator of the company.
The appointment effectively transfers control of NICON’s affairs to the receiver, who is responsible for securing the company’s assets, establishing its liabilities and overseeing the winding-up process in accordance with the law.
In a move to protect the company’s properties and other assets, the Receiver and Provisional Liquidator issued a public notice directing policyholders, creditors, business partners, federal and state governments, the FCT and land registries to channel all matters concerning NICON’s affairs, assets and business to the appointed receiver.
The notice warned that transactions, contracts, commitments or other dealings purportedly undertaken on behalf of NICON, now in liquidation, would not be recognized without the ratification of the Receiver and Provisional Liquidator.
NAICOM’s action against NICON is part of the regulator’s enforcement of new minimum capital requirements introduced under the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act, NIIRA, 2025.
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Insurance operators were required to meet the new capital thresholds within the stipulated recapitalization period or risk losing their operational licenses.
NICON was among the operators that failed to satisfy the prescribed requirements within the deadline, leading to the cancellation of its license.
The regulatory action comes as NAICOM moves to strengthen the financial position of insurance companies and ensure that only adequately capitalized operators remain in business.
With Ume’s appointment, the immediate focus is on taking control of NICON’s assets and records, identifying legitimate liabilities and ensuring that the liquidation process is conducted in an orderly manner.
The Receiver is also expected to liaise with NAICOM on matters arising from the liquidation and submit periodic reports on the progress of the process.
The interests of policyholders, creditors and other stakeholders are expected to remain central to the exercise, particularly the verification and settlement of legitimate claims and liabilities.
The appointment of a Receiver and Provisional Liquidator represents a significant regulatory intervention because it removes the company’s affairs from normal management and places them under the control of an officer responsible for preserving and realizing its assets to settle lawful obligations.
The move is also intended to prevent unauthorized dealings with NICON’s assets and ensure that transactions undertaken during the liquidation process are properly controlled.
NAICOM said enforcement of the new recapitalization requirements is aimed at strengthening the financial capacity of Nigeria’s insurance industry and ensuring greater stability among operators.
The commission recently announced that 43 reinsurance companies had successfully met the new minimum capital requirements at the end of the recapitalization exercise.
The development involving NICON marks another major step in the regulator’s effort to enforce the new capital regime across the insurance industry.
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