The Federal Ministry of Finance has directed the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) to suspend the enforcement of disputed recapitalisation fees and escrow transfer directives against NICON Insurance Limited and Nigeria Reinsurance Corporation, pending the determination of a petition filed by the two companies.
The directive was contained in a letter dated August 6, 2026, and signed by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Raymond Omachi, on behalf of the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy.
The ministry said it received a petition from NICON and Nigeria Re dated July 27 over the ongoing insurance industry recapitalisation exercise under the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025.
According to the ministry, the companies challenged NAICOM’s demand for a one per cent Capital Injection Fee, alongside additional processing and verification charges.
The disputed fees were reportedly assessed at N305 million for NICON and N375 million for Nigeria Re.
The two firms also challenged NAICOM’s directive requiring existing insurance companies to transfer their entire capital injection funds into an escrow account with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), instead of the 10 per cent statutory deposit provided under Section 16(3) of NIIRA 2025.
Companies Dispute NAICOM Charges
The ministry said NICON and Nigeria Re described the one per cent charge as an “illegal fee”, while also questioning an additional N180 million capitalisation charge and describing the full-capital escrow directive as unconstitutional.
The companies reportedly told the ministry that they had already met the July 31, 2026 recapitalisation deadline.
NICON said it had injected N20 billion, while Nigeria Re injected N30 billion into Mudaraba Term Deposit accounts with Lotus Bank.
The companies said the amounts exceeded their adjusted capital requirements of N16 billion and N28 billion respectively.
They also stated that they had separately deposited N2.5 billion and N3.5 billion with the CBN in line with the statutory requirement and made initial fee payments of N80 million and N75 million to NAICOM.
Following the petition, the Finance Ministry asked NAICOM to provide a detailed response and legal justification for the disputed charges and directives.
The ministry further directed the commission to suspend enforcement of the processing fees, one per cent capital injection fees and full-capital escrow transfer directives against the two companies until the petition is determined.
The dispute comes amid Nigeria’s industry-wide recapitalisation exercise under NIIRA 2025, which introduced new minimum capital requirements for insurance and reinsurance companies, with July 31, 2026 set as the compliance deadline.
Source: Federal Ministry of Finance.
