News
Stakeholder Applauds Digitization of Nigerian Insurance Industry
Mr. Casmir Azubuike, the Chief Executive Officer of Afriglobal Insurance Brokers Limited, has said the Nigerian insurance industry has been going through digital transformation, which is boosting its acceptance.
Azubuike said this in a presentation titled ‘Changing the face of insurance practice’.
He said, “The Nigerian insurance industry is evolving from analogue to a digitally-driven industry.
“Office processes are getting automated, manual registers and records are being phased out, policy and clients’ statistics are now being spooled electronically, policy documents are being generated and transmitted electronically.
“Latest is the development of mobile app, which makes it possible for you to buy insurance from the start to finish, including claims reporting and processing, on your mobile phone, from the comfort of your bedroom.”
According to him, the insurance industry was in the past reputed for poverty, extreme conservatism, hungry- and haggard-looking workforce, and dishonesty, among others.
“The insurance industry of today has succeeded in reversing this negative image,” Azubuike said.
According to him, insurance firms’ offices and brokers now own or occupy magnificent structures located in high-brow areas, while employees are now well-remunerated, with attractive conditions of service.
He, however, noted that the industry was still grappling with challenges.
According to him, the challenges include poor product knowledge, laundering the poor image of the industry, achieving the desired penetration level, reversing the industry’s poor contribution to the GDP, addressing the low underwriting capacity issues, slow adoption of technology, poor leadership giving rise to financial mismanagement, and weak governance and regulatory bottlenecks.
He said other challenges were unavailability of reliable statistical data, lack of innovative products that addressed clients’ need, and unprofessional and unethical conducts by practitioners, among others.
He said the face of insurance practice in Nigeria had been over the years characterised with poor image, and very poorly embraced by the public.
However, he added, conscious efforts were being made by practitioners to launder the image.
“Much as some level of success are being recorded, the greater national challenges of corruption begotten by very poor standard of living is making it difficult for the efforts to yield as expected,” he said.
According to him, the very low per capital income has relegated insurance to the least in the priority list.
Azubuike said the recent spate of losses caused by the #EndSARS protest and the 21-storey building collapse at Ikoyi appeared to be awakening the consumers’ consciousness to insurance.
“Therefore, from public alienation, the industry is beginning to experience increasing acceptance to total invigoration,” he said.
Atte Ayodeji, a Nigerian computer scientist,has developed an artificial intelligence algorithm capable of detecting, counting, grouping and generating healthy hair follicles during hair transplant procedures, an innovation that earned him the Best Innovative Technology award.
Atte Ayodeji
Ayodeji also graduated with a Distinction in his Master of Science (MSc) in Computer Science from Birmingham City University on Friday, adding another milestone to an impressive academic year.
Beyond his award-winning hair transplant innovation, the Nigerian researcher developed a system and framework on Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) as a professional responsibility in the diagnosis of lung cancer.
His dissertation received a silver award at the PGXPO2026 Winter, further highlighting the impact of his research in applying artificial intelligence to healthcare.
Sunday Dare, special adviser on Media and Public Communication to President Tinubu, celebrated Ayodeji’s achievements in a post on X, recalling how he first met him in 2019 during his National Youth Service.
“In 2019 when I became a Minister of the Republic, I met a young man of medium height, genteel with penetrating eyes: Atte Ayodeji. His words rarely come out and he could easily be passed by unnoticed. But I noticed him especially when my SA Kemi Areola brought him to me asking my approval for him to do his Youth Service in my office. I approved. From then on he was unstoppable. His brilliance shown and he developed skills beyond his frame.”
Highlighting Ayodeji’s recent accomplishments, Dare congratulated him saying, “Congratulations Atte. I am proud of you!”
Mr. Joseph Tegbe, minister of Power, has said that the federal government plans to end power sector subsidies from 2027 and that there are no immediate plans for tariff increases.
Mr. Joseph Tegbe, minister of Power
The minister told journalists during the media interactive session at the weekend that the government has announced plans to phase out electricity subsidy payments from 2027 as part of efforts to address mounting liabilities in the power sector.
He explained that the planned removal forms part of the broader reforms aimed at ensuring the long-term sustainability of the electricity sector, while tackling the financial challenges confronting the industry.
According to the minister, despite the planned subsidy withdrawal, there are no immediate plans to increase electricity tariffs, reassuring consumers that the government is not considering a tariff hike in the short term.
Patience Okala, the National Coordinator and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria AfCFTA Coordination Office has urged African countries to stop exporting raw materials and instead focus on adding value to its natural resources if it is to fully harness the opportunities offered by the African Continental Free Trade Area.
She stated this on Thursday at the Streamsowers & Köhn 20th Anniversary Business Forum, where she stressed that value addition and beneficiation are essential to Africa’s industrialisation and long-term economic growth.
According to a statement issued on Friday by the Nigeria AfCFTA Coordination Office, she said the AfCFTA goes beyond the elimination of tariffs, serving as a framework for industrialisation, value addition, and job creation across the continent.
“AfCFTA is not only about tariffs; it is also about value addition. Africa has to stop exporting raw materials. We need to add value and ensure that beneficiation is done on the continent,” she said.
Okala also said Africa’s economic transformation would depend on the effective implementation of the AfCFTA rather than on the signing of trade agreements alone.
“We have moved beyond negotiations. The success of AfCFTA will be measured by the extent to which businesses can access new markets, trade seamlessly across borders, and benefit from the opportunities created by the agreement,” she said.
She noted that Nigeria had intensified efforts to implement the agreement under the leadership of the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, including the development of simplified AfCFTA guides in six languages to help businesses understand and take advantage of opportunities under the trade pact.
Okala called for stronger collaboration among governments, regulators, and the private sector to eliminate barriers to trade and investment and build a truly integrated African market.
“As we move from policy to implementation, our collective responsibility is to ensure that the opportunities created by AfCFTA become practical realities for businesses, particularly MSMEs, women-owned enterprises, and young entrepreneurs across the continent,” she said.
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