BY NKECHI NAECHE-ESEZOBOR—Former Commissioner for Insurance and Chief Executive of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Alh. Mohamed Kari, on Wednesday called on the Minister of Finance and Co-ordinating Minister of the Economy to reject back-channel political lobbying from non-compliant insurance operators seeking exemptions from statutory recapitalisation mandates.
In an open letter addressed to the Minister, Kari warned that granting special concessions or allowing the Ministry to act as an informal court of appeal for distressed entities undermines NAICOM’s statutory authority, degrades market discipline, and penalizes law-abiding operators that have taken significant financial steps to comply with the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025.
Highlighting the specific cases of legacy institutions like NICON Insurance and Nigeria Reinsurance Corporation—both of which he previously led—Kari expressed dismay that these entities continue to rely on political influence to bypass regulatory requirements rather than recapitalising.
He noted that over 90 percent of the market has diligently followed statutory requirements by injecting fresh capital, depositing escrow reserves with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and meeting verification criteria. Kari emphasized that neither NICON nor Nigeria Re currently poses a “too big to fail” systemic risk to the broader economy.
Shielding chronic defaulters from enforcement, he cautioned, distorts fair competition, deters patient foreign investment, and leaves policyholders exposed to unmitigated risk.
He also called for total commitment to a level playing field across the Nigerian insurance industry.
Drawing on his extensive background as a former Managing Director of both Nigeria Reinsurance Corporation and NICON Insurance, as well as his tenure as the industry’s chief regulator, Kari cautioned that political intervention in purely regulatory matters threatens market discipline.
He specifically highlighted efforts by legacy institutions to bypass statutory requirements under the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025 and NAICOM’s Minimum Capital Requirement Guidelines by seeking executive waivers from the Finance Ministry.
Kari stressed that with over 90% of operators diligently complying with recapitalisation directives, granting special carve-outs to chronic defaulters creates an uneven market, discourages investment, and exposes policyholders to unmitigated risk.
He urged the Ministry of Finance to respect NAICOM’s statutory mandate and refuse to act as an informal court of appeal, noting that upholding equal regulatory enforcement is the only way to build lasting global confidence in Nigeria’s financial sector.
