General News
Analysts Call for Mergers and Acquisition Among Insurers
With the recent Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) directive that universal banking would be phased out soon, reprieve appears to be on the way of insurance companies who have been apprehensive about their capacity to excel. However while this may be good omen for the stand alone insurance companies, industry watchers opined that the best weapon available to insures is for further recapitalization and more mergers and acquisition. This, according to them, will reposition the industry for greater strength and ability to absorb the post consolidation challenges.
Mr. Wole Olajide, veteran insurance practitioner opined that the increasing foray of banks into insurance, though an indication of public confidence on the industry, an indication of the industry’s viability, the unfolding situation is a clarion call on the insurers to put their house in order.
According to him, the capital base of banks which brought the number of banks to 25, from its weedy and shaky number was what earned it the vast advantage while calling for a forceful merger by operators as a way of consolidating on on-going reforms in the industry.
Olajide warned that if this is not done, the little gains that the consolidation has achieved would be rubbished, adding that the insurance firms profile may not only dwindle but may even be swallowed by the banks which will emerge stronger in their strict adherence to core banking services.
He suggested that rather than having as many as fifty insurance companies, mmany of which are only maintaining big presence in selected cities, insurers should merge to a maximum of ten mega insurers of world ranking.
In pulling resources together, analyst believes that capacity building should be given accelerated boost. This would reposition them to compete effectively.
However, analysts believe that one corresponding area which operators need to focus on is capacity building. Their position is that given the rapid development which the industry has witnessed, enhanced capacity building, may be one of the greatest challenges facing its development.
Joseph Ako, insurance consultant and trainer stated that the rapid growth in the sector needs to be complemented by tools for improved fortunes. He therefore, tasked operators to embark on capacity building through sponsorship of seminar, conferences and other areas that would grow the industry further. He called for an All stakeholders summit with a view to fashioning out sustainable policies for the overall interest of the industry. He stated that there was a greater strength in pooling resources together than having insurance companies who cannot be among the top insurers in the world.
He commended the organizers of the Insurance Future Summit held in Abuja but cautioned that while it may be expedient to sponsor such for a, it was also desirable to evolve increased “home grown” conferences which will put the local operators on their toes.. Ako also called on operators to be more involved in relevant community sponsorship as part of their corporate social responsibility. He explained that the insurance sector has not been very prominent in this regard, a situation which as placed insurance business as superficial before the public who correspondingly view their services as undesirable.
According to industry watchers, the new financial strength of operators makes it mandatory for more branches to be established. If new branches are thus set up to match the growth, they content that the situation calls for customized training and development program which will not only make operators to be attuned to current market trends but also make their services to meet the growing demands of the insuring public.
He advised operators to aggressively pursue capacity building as it remains the only weapon needed to sustain the accompanying increased returns on investment, enhanced profit margins and strategic service delivery.
Corroborating, The insurance consultant challenged operators to embrace the dynamic innovations and service delivery platform of the banks. Unless this is done, he said, banks may swallow up 50percent of insurance core services, especially against the background of rising acquisition of insurance firms by banks and the existing incursion of banks into some traditional insurance businesses.
To be able to manage the huge demands, which the post-consolidation will herald in the sector; emphasizing that capacity building poses a big challenge in meeting sustainable capital adequacy, human resources development and upgrading of information Communication Technology (ICT).
Still on strategic alliances, this analyst explained that such would allow for uniform services such as the one being rendered by banks presently through various services such as e-banking.
Chinonso Akujobi, former staff of Access Bank in Lagos, has been remanded in Ikoyi prison after she was arraigned on a five-count charge bordering on stealing to the tune of N294.5m.
Akujobi who is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was arraigned before Justice I.O. Ijelu of the State High Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos.
EFCC alleged that Akujobi stole the money between January and December 2025 while under the employment of Access Bank Plc.
As stated in one the charges, the defendant stole the money through unauthorized payments from the general ledger of Access Bank to her account number 0036668871 with the name Chinonso A., Uchechi A. and Florence A., thereby committing an offence of stealing, contrary to Section 280 and punishable under Section 287 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
The defendant pleaded “not guilty“ to the charges when they were read to her.
In view of this, S.M.Yabo, prosecution counsel, asked the court for a trial date and also prayed for the remand of the defendant in a Correctional centre.
Justice Ijelu, thereafter, adjourned the case till October 8, 2026, for the hearing of the bail application and the commencement of trial.
The Judge also ordered that the defendant be remanded in the Ikoyi correctional Centre.
The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) says the flight captain of the VMO Aero aircraft that landed on a roadway near Asaba Airport in Delta State told investigators that the observer pilot mistakenly identified the paved road as the runway before touchdown.
The bureau disclosed this in a preliminary report released on Thursday on the June 10 incident, which prompted the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to ground the private jet.
The aircraft had seven people on board, including the pilot-in-command (PIC), second-in-command (SIC), an observer pilot, a cabin crew member and three passengers.
According to the report, the aircraft was cleared by Air Traffic Control (ATC) to approach Runway 11 at Asaba Airport after the crew requested a right orbit.
The crew initially discontinued the approach, executed a missed approach and repositioned for a second landing attempt.
NSIB said the crew reported that the aircraft’s navigation systems indicated it was correctly established on the published RNAV Runway 11 approach.
“The PIC and SIC reported that the observer pilot identified the paved surface ahead as the runway,” the report stated.
However, the observer pilot gave investigators a different version of events.
According to NSIB, he said the aircraft remained inside cloud until late in the approach and that the Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS) repeatedly issued “TERRAIN, TERRAIN, PULL UP” alerts.
He also said he observed a telecommunications mast directly ahead and instructed the flight captain to abandon the approach and climb immediately.
The bureau further disclosed that a cabin crew member reported that one of the passengers became concerned after overhearing discussions among the pilots and asked whether one of them was undergoing training. The passenger was reportedly reassured that all three pilots on board were experienced captains.
NSIB said no abnormal events were reported in the cabin before touchdown.
The aircraft eventually landed at about 8:57 a.m. on an under-construction paved roadway near Asaba Airport instead of the designated runway.
The bureau said its investigation into the incident is ongoing, while the preliminary report highlights conflicting accounts among the cockpit crew over the circumstances that led to the erroneous landing.
European Union has warned Meta Platforms Inc. that it could face a significant financial penalty unless it changes what regulators describe as the “addictive design” features of Facebook and Instagram.
The European Commission issued the warning in preliminary findings released on Friday, saying Meta had failed to sufficiently address risks posed by its platforms, particularly to children and vulnerable users.
The Commission said features such as infinite scrolling, personalised content recommendations and automatic video playback were designed in ways that encouraged excessive engagement with the platforms.
EU Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, Henna Virkkunen, said protecting the physical and mental well-being of European citizens should be a priority for social media companies.
The Commission said Meta should consider introducing design changes, including disabling autoplay and infinite scrolling by default, providing effective screen-time reminders and adjusting recommendation systems to reduce the focus on maximising user engagement.
The findings were issued under the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which sets obligations for major online platforms to address risks associated with their services.
Meta, however, rejected the Commission’s conclusions, saying it disagreed with the findings but would continue engaging with European regulators.
The company said it had already implemented measures aimed at protecting younger users, including Teen Accounts that allow parents to manage screen time limits and restrict access during night hours.
The EU said its investigation, which began in 2024, found that existing time-management tools on Facebook and Instagram could easily be bypassed, while parental controls required technical knowledge that limited their effectiveness.
Regulators also expressed concerns over children’s nighttime use of the platforms and the possibility that features such as Reels and Stories could encourage compulsive behaviour.
If the Commission’s preliminary findings are confirmed, Meta could face a fine of up to six per cent of its annual global revenue under the DSA.
The warning comes as the EU steps up efforts to strengthen online safety measures for children, with an expert panel established by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expected to present recommendations on protecting minors online.
Several EU member states, including France, have also supported discussions on restricting social media access for children, following Australia’s decision to ban users under 16 from accessing social media platforms.
Meanwhile, the Commission is continuing a separate investigation into whether Meta’s recommendation algorithms create “rabbit hole” effects by directing users towards increasingly extreme content.
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