General News
Local Content on Oil & Gas Underwriting; Issues and Challenges
Three years after the much- lauded federal government policy, expanding the scope of local content on oil and gas underwriting, there are indications that the policy remains threatened. These threats range from unethical practices to undulating playing field. The implication is that if these challenges are not adequately addressed, doors will continually open to capital flight.
Ultimately, this would impact negatively on the country’s balance of trade.
Sources revealed that some insurance companies are still involved in the unethical practices in collusion with foreign underwriters. The practice is such that the reserved percentage for local underwriting is being traded-off to foreigners.
The federal government in 2006 rolled out the local content policy which exclusively reserved 45percent for local insurers in the oil and gas underwriting. The euphoria that greeted the policy led to the launch of Nigeria’s first energy insurance consortium.
According to a top industry operator who prefers anonymity, “it is not entirely correct that local insurers collude to transfer their capacity outside the shores of Nigeria”.
However, he admitted that “due to the capital base of our local underwriters which places the highest capitalized insurers in Nigeria among the lowest in the world, it would take a longer time for local underwriters to fully have the capacity to underwrite all oil and gas insurance”.
He added that one of the reasons why the perceived sharp practices may continue is that oil and gas insurance is prized in dollars while local underwriting is done in the local currency.Investigations confirmed that local insurers connive with some officials of the National Petroleum Investment Management services (NAPIMS) to transfer business due to them to foreign insurers. This is allegedly being encouraged by the huge commission which they earn in foreign currency.
At the launched of Nigeria’s first energy insurance consortium, one of the facilitators, Mr. Jonnie Wilcox raised public expectations when he stated that part of the objectives of the consortium was reduction of outflow, adding that the consortium would add value to the local capacity and create certainty and access to funds security at the international market. However, two years after, can these objectives be said to have been achieved?
It is unfortunate that rather than satisfying local consortium bidding, there are still leakages of over 40percent of the reserve to foreign insurers.
Mr. Ambrose Umosor is an insurance consultant. In accessing the situation, he called on the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) to discourage leakages while ensuring a deeper surveillance on the local insurers in order to nip these sharp practices in their buds. He also called for caution in exercising the exceptional waivers right which NAICOM holds.
For instance, section 72 (1-4) of the Insurance Act 2003, stipulates that “the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) can only grant approval for placement of any risk that cannot be placed locally except in very exceptional circumstances” Umosor advised NAICOM to ensure that any waiver, necessitated by circumstances, must be opened to public scrutiny.
Expert’s opinion indicates that full implementation of the local content policy holds the key to Nigeria’s insurance growth. This they hinged on the fact that it would empower the local insurers to dictate prizes at its own capacity. In addition, it would enable them manage their own risks and reward issues as well as creating empowerment to the industry and all stakeholders.
According to the Managing Director of Trinity Consulting Group, Mr. Adulphus Nwaeze, while reviewing the performance of the policy so far “it is unethical for some operators to be discriminated against, particularly the brokers whose strategic position is crucial to the success of the policy.
He stated that while the policy provided for at least 45percent of underwriting in the oil and gas for local insurers, only less than 10 percent is still being handled by local insurers.
Nwaeze explained that it is unfortunate that some local companies still collude with foreigners to sell out our rightful share under flimsy excuses.
The energy expert called on operators to develop a strategic charter and operational framework, identify leakages for necessary amendments as well as injecting a true Nigerian content opportunities into the policy.
The issue of local content has attracted various comments over time. According to the chairman, Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) Mr. Wole Oshin, confronting local content policy goes beyond local capacity. He said the inability of local underwriters to effectively markets themselves abroad is another challenge.
Earlier, the Managing Director of First Bank of Nigerian Insurance Brokers (FBNIB), Mr. Val Ujumah hinted that government’s desire of the local content policy may not be realized unless brokers are carried along.
He stated that brokers have been sidelined in the selection of firms for the oil and gas insurance while also faulting the bidding processes for participation.
Of significance, he said, is the fact that contrary to current practice, bidding for insurance should naturally be for brokers and not insurers.
Mr. Ujumah explained that what is in practice now is that the bidding process is being controlled by one body which he identified as the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS).
He pointed out that on the contrary, it is the brokers who should be allowed to choose the insurers to work with and not for the insurers to choose the reinsure or broker as presently happening.
Experts’ opinion is that with an enlarged position reserved for local underwriters, our economic life would be boosted. The policy is also expected to boost the insurance industry which has been in limbo over a long time until recently.
It would also contribute substantially to the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) which is projected to have grown by more than 10 percent.
Interestingly, however, operators have risen to these challenges as they collaborate with industry regulator to straighten crooked lines.
According to Mr. Wole Oshin, Nigerian Insurers Association “has further been able to secure the Guidelines on Consortium Bidding with the assistance of the National Insurance Commission”.
In his statement at this year’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) he explained that the industry has also “presented a joint memorandum to the National Assembly during the public hearing on Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Bill”
Can one then say that these challenges appear to be receiving attention?
If the various efforts being made by stakeholders are anything to go by, there could be light at the end of the tunnel.
For instance NIA, according to Oshin, has also had “several meetings with the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB) for the purpose of bridging the communication gap and fostering mutual co-operation and understanding”.
Therefore, if the various provisions of the Insurance Act especially as it relates to key issues as Nigerian content on oil and gas are adhered to, the future of the industry would brighten further which would place the industry in its right position among top insurance companies in the world.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, said that the Afreximbank would invest $19 billion to fund the African Energy Bank.
He said the $19 billion would go a long way toward tackling and overcoming energy poverty, driving economic growth, and improving the lives of millions of people.
The minister disclosed this while speaking at the opening ceremony of the Nigerian Pavilion, hosted by the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN), at the ongoing Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston, Texas, U.S with the theme “Africa’s Energy Renaissance: Leveraging Innovation and Natural Gas for Sustainable Development.”
He said that by pooling resources, African countries can invest in large-scale energy projects.
Also, the minister stressed the need for Africa to develop cohesive policies tailored to its unique circumstances, warning that fragmented approaches would be ineffective in addressing the escalating energy deficit.
“This conference is not a jamboree. It is a platform for Nigeria, and by extension, Africa — to showcase its vast potential,” Lokpobiri said.
He underscored the importance of regional collaboration, highlighting the Africa Petroleum Producers Organisation (APPO) as a strategic entity established to devise shared solutions for the continent’s energy challenges.
According to him, the prevailing global discourse on energy transition is largely influenced by geopolitical considerations.
In response to this challenge, he announced that APPO is in the process of establishing the African Energy Bank to bridge funding gaps and ultimately free the continent from energy poverty.
During a meeting with his Ghanaian counterpart, Lokpobiri advised Ghana to draw lessons from Nigeria’s past experiences in the energy sector, particularly in avoiding early missteps.
In his address, Ghana’s Minister of Energy and Green Transition, Mr John Abdullahi, acknowledged Nigeria’s leading role in the region.
He stated that while Ghana is a relatively new player in the oil and gas sector, it is eager to learn from Nigeria’s experiences and reforms, especially in the areas of local content development and climate policy.
“We will continue to consult Nigeria as we build a successful oil and gas industry. The collaboration between both countries remains strong. For his part, PETAN Chairman Wole Ogunsanya emphasised the significance of Nigeria’s presence at OTC.
He said: “This year’s event, under the Nigerian Pavilion, is set to highlight Africa’s growing role in the global energy sector.
“OTC 2025 promises to bring together top-tier industry leaders, policymakers, and stakeholders at the world’s largest energy event.”
Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) has declared July 1, 2025, as the deadline for phasing out cash transactions across all its offices nationwide.
This was disclosed in a statement issued on Monday by Frank Alao, director of Corporate Communications,NIPOST.
The move is part of a broader reform initiative aimed at transforming NIPOST into a more innovative, efficient, and digitally driven organisation.
The management explained that the reforms are aligned with global best practices and tailored to meet the demands of Nigeria’s rapidly evolving digital economy, as well as the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Alao stated, “We are assuring Nigerians of a revitalised NIPOST that delivers superior service and embraces the future.
“A major highlight of the reform package is the transition to a fully cashless system. Beginning July 1, 2025, all post office counters nationwide will no longer accept cash payments for their services. Customers will be required to use approved electronic channels for all transactions.
“This is a crucial step in our modernization journey, one that ensures safer, faster, and more transparent service delivery.”
The Presidency has faulted claim of Akinwumi Adesina, president, African Development Bank (AfDB), on the current Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita figures versus the level it was in 1960 when Nigeria attained independence.
Akinwumi Adesina, president, African Development Bank
The outgoing AfDB President had in a recent viral statement claimed that Nigerians are worse off today than in 1960 when Nigeria’s GDP per capita was $1847..
The AfDB President claimed that in contrast to the level of the GDP per capita at Nigeria independence, the country’s current GDP stands at $824 today, a reflection of the current rampant poverty and low human development in the country.
But in a rebuttal of the claim, the presidency, in a statement by Bayo Onanuga, the spokesperson to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu accused the AfDB President of failure to carry out proper research and speaking like a politician in his assertions.
“Adesina spoke like a politician, in the mould of Peter Obi and did not do due diligence before making his unverifiable statement,” the presidency said while faulting the claim of the AfDB President.
While countering the claim of Adesina, the presidency noted in the statement that available data indicated that Nigeria’s GDP was $4.2 billion in 1960, and per capita income for a population of 44.9 million was $93, not even one hundred dollars.
“Our country’s GDP did not rise remarkably until the 1970s, when crude earnings ballooned. In 1970, our GDP rose to $12.55 billion. In 1975, it was $27.7 billion, $64.2 billion in 1980, and $164 billion in 1981. Up until 1980, per capita income did not exceed $880. It rose to $2187 in 1981 and dropped to $1844 in 1982. In 2014, after rebasing, it reached an all-time high of $3,200.
“These facts raise questions about the source of Dr Adesina’s figures,” Onanuga said.
However, the presidency also faulted the AfDB President, a former Nigerian Minister of Agriculture of making inferences on the state of poverty or human development in Nigeria solely based on the GPD per capita numbers. .
“Dr Adesina should know that GDP per capita is not the only criterion used to determine whether people live better lives now than in the past. Indeed, it is a poor tool for assessing living standards.
“Its primary usefulness is in giving us the metrics to compare economic output in a country or between countries.
“GDP masks many activities in a country’s economy. It neither discloses wealth distribution or income inequality nor accounts for the informal economy, which experts have said is enormous. It does not account for subsistence farming or income transfer from one family member to another,” the presidency said.
The Presidency also noted that GDP per capita is not reflective of the fact that Nigerians in 2025 have better access to healthcare, education, and transportation, such as rail and air transport, than in 1960.
“This premise alone suggests why Dr Adesina should not have arrived at his conclusion.
“Compared with 1960, Nigeria today has more primary, secondary, and tertiary schools.
“We have more road networks and more medical facilities, private and public. We have phenomenal access to telephones.
“At Independence, we had 18,724 operational phone lines for a population of about 45 million. Over 200 million Nigerians now enjoy near-universal access to mobile phones and digital services, indicating we are better off today than 65 years ago.”
Furthermore, the presidency noted that Nigerian policymakers know that whatever GDP figure NBS publishes may not capture our economy’s full depth and breadth as it usually excludes the greater part of the informal economy, which some pundits have said may even be more significant than the formal economy.
“This underscores why Dr. Adesina should have considered all aspects of our economy before concluding.”
“When Vodacom, a telecommunications company, considered entering the Nigerian market in 1999 or 2000, its consultants, using the available GDP metrics, advised against it.
“They believed that Nigerians were too poor to afford GSM services. However, MTN and other companies that entered the market later proved them wrong, demonstrating that GDP figures alone do not provide a complete picture of a country’s economic potential or the living standards of its people.
“MTN and other adventurers came later, and they laughed all the way to the bank. More than 20 years later, they are still laughing despite some setbacks in 2023 and 2024. In its first-quarter results this year, MTN declared revenue of N1 trillion and an increase of 8.2 percent in subscriptions, which took the number of its voice and data users to 84 million. Does this MTN experience correlate with a country worse off than in 1960, when we had analogue telephones and the number of lines was fewer than 20,000?
“No objective observer can claim that Nigeria has not made progress since 1960. Today, as we await the NBS’s recalibration of our GDP, we can comfortably say without contradiction that it is at least 50 times, if not 100 times, more than it was at Independence.”
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