The Senate has passed a landmark Insurance Regulatory Commission Bill to replace the nearly three decade old National Insurance Commission Act of 1997, in what lawmakers described as one of the most comprehensive overhauls of the country’s insurance regulatory framework in decades.
The bill, passed during plenary presided over by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, followed adoption of a report from the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions, chaired by Senator Mukhail Adetokunbo Abiru. It repeals the 1997 Act and establishes a new Insurance Regulatory Commission with expanded supervisory and enforcement powers to keep pace with a rapidly evolving industry.
Presenting the committee’s report, Abiru said the existing law had become outdated and unable to address emerging risks in the insurance sector, noting that while the National Insurance Commission had made important contributions, its enabling law had failed to keep pace with global best practices, leaving gaps that necessitated urgent reform. He said the new law guarantees the commission’s independence while expanding its powers to issue regulations, collaborate with domestic and international regulators, and intervene early in troubled insurance companies before problems escalate.
He said the bill introduces stricter governance requirements for the commission’s board, requiring proven competence in insurance, finance, law and risk management, and strengthens enforcement through heavier financial penalties, license suspension and disqualification of individuals responsible for the collapse of insurance institutions. He said renaming the agency from the National Insurance Commission to the Insurance Regulatory Commission would better reflect its statutory role and eliminate confusion.
Abiru said the committee held a public hearing in November 2025 that drew more than 50 memoranda and oral submissions from stakeholders including the finance ministry, the central bank, the deposit insurance corporation, the securities regulator and industry associations, with broad consensus that reform was overdue. After clause by clause consideration, the Senate passed the bill for third reading, with Akpabio commending the committee for what he called a far reaching reform. The bill now proceeds to the House of Representatives for concurrence before transmission to President Bola Tinubu for assent.
Separately, the same Senate committee cleared former Securities and Exchange Commission Director General and current Central Bank Deputy Governor, Lamido Yuguda, for appointment as Chairman of the Board of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, granting him an expedited screening given his history of prior Senate confirmations. Committee members praised Yuguda’s record across multiple prior appointments, while the committee’s acting vice chairman, Mohammed Sani Musa, called for a comprehensive briefing on the corporation’s performance ahead of its planned wind up around 2030, a request the committee chairman said would be addressed. The nomination now proceeds to the full Senate for final approval.
