The Group Managing Director of Royal Exchange Plc, Mrs Idu Okeahialam, has called for more collaboration between the oil and gas and insurance sectors to accelerate local content development, digital transformation, and sustainable economic growth.
Okeahialam made the call on Tuesday while delivering the keynote address at the 10th SuperNews Annual Conference in Lagos.
She said local content and digitalisation had become critical drivers of productivity, competitiveness, and long-term value creation.
Okeahialam stressed that Nigeria’s local content agenda should extend beyond ownership of oil assets to financing, insurance, technology and risk management.
According to her, insurance remains a critical economic infrastructure that enhances investor confidence, supports project financing and strengthens business resilience.
She urged insurance operators to invest in technology, talent and innovation to address emerging risks, particularly cyber threats associated with increased digitalisation.
Okeahialam also called for stronger partnerships among government, regulators, oil and gas operators, insurers and technology firms to deepen local insurance capacity and retain more energy risks within the country.
She identified deepening local content, accelerating digital transformation, strengthening domestic insurance capacity, enhancing cyber resilience and promoting public-private partnerships as key priorities for achieving sustainable economic growth by 2030.
Panelists at the conference echoed the call for closer collaboration, saying existing laws already support local participation in the oil and gas industry but weak implementation and poor compliance continue to hinder progress.
They advocated the establishment of a joint task force to strengthen implementation, improve coordination between both sectors and expand local underwriting capacity.
The stakeholders also called for greater investment in specialised skills, digital innovation, data sharing and product development to address complex oil and gas risks.
According to them, stronger collaboration among regulators, operators, insurers, technology firms and academia would help retain more insurance business in Nigeria while supporting the country’s 2030 local content targets.
Also, President of the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB), Mrs Ekeoma Ezeibe, said stronger synergy between the oil and gas and insurance sectors would boost investment, create jobs and strengthen local content.
Ezeibe, represented by Mrs Olufunke Adenusi, Managing Director, Colximate Insurance Brokers Ltd. described the conference theme, “Local Content and Digitalisation: Building Synergy Between Oil and Gas and Insurance Sectors for Inclusive Growth”, as timely and strategic.
She acknowledged progress recorded in both industries but identified inadequate capital and limited local underwriting capacity for offshore energy risks as major constraints.
Ezeibe, however, said the implementation of the Nigeria Insurance Reform Act 2025 and growing collaboration between the National Insurance Commission and the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board signalled positive momentum for the industry.
She urged stakeholders to accelerate efforts toward building a competitive, well-capitalised and digitally enabled insurance industry capable of underwriting Nigeria’s energy risks.
Ezeibe reaffirmed the council’s commitment to promoting ethical and professional risk advisory services and pledged continued support for initiatives that deepen collaboration between the insurance and oil and gas sectors.
She also congratulated SuperNews on its 10th anniversary, commending the organisation for promoting credible and impactful business journalism in Nigeria.
