Nigeria’s insurance and oil and gas sectors have been urged to strengthen strategic partnerships built around local content development and digital transformation to drive inclusive economic growth and improve national resilience.
The Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Royal Exchange Plc, Mrs Idu Okeahialam, gave the charge while delivering the keynote address at the SuperNews Nigeria Local Content Conference 2026 and the organisation’s 10th Anniversary celebration held in Lagos on Tuesday.
Speaking on the theme, “Local Content and Digitalisation: Building Synergy Between the Oil and Gas and Insurance Sectors for Inclusive Growth,” Okeahialam said Nigeria’s next phase of economic development would require stronger collaboration among key sectors, improved institutions, innovation and strategic partnerships capable of creating sustainable value.
She noted that although the country had made significant progress in local content development within the oil and gas industry, the next stage should extend beyond asset ownership to include indigenous financing, insurance capacity, technology, expertise and risk management.
According to her, insurance remains a critical economic foundation that provides the confidence required for investment, financing and long-term business sustainability, particularly in a complex sector such as oil and gas.
Okeahialam said retaining more insurance premiums within Nigeria would support domestic capital formation, create jobs, deepen professional expertise and strengthen the country’s financial ecosystem.
“The relationship between the oil and gas and insurance sectors must evolve beyond a transactional arrangement into a strategic partnership. By strengthening local insurance capacity, we strengthen local content, retain greater economic value within Nigeria and accelerate national development,” she said.
The Royal Exchange chief executive also identified digitalisation as a key driver of operational efficiency, innovation and competitiveness across industries.
She said technologies such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, automation, data analytics and the Internet of Things were transforming business operations while also creating new risks, including cyber threats, data breaches and vulnerabilities in digital infrastructure.
According to her, the insurance sector must move beyond merely compensating losses to helping businesses anticipate risks, prevent disruptions and build resilience through technology-based solutions.
Okeahialam proposed an ecosystem where oil and gas operators, insurers, regulators, technology companies and investors collaborate through shared data, predictive analytics and integrated risk management systems to improve underwriting, reduce losses and enhance efficiency.
She stressed that the benefits of local content and digitalisation should extend beyond large corporations to include small and medium-sized enterprises, women-owned businesses, young professionals, technology innovators and host communities.
She outlined a roadmap towards 2030 based on five priorities: deepening local content, accelerating digital transformation, strengthening domestic insurance capacity, improving cyber resilience and promoting stronger public-private partnerships.
“The future of Nigeria’s oil and gas industry will not be secured by production alone. It will be secured by partnerships, innovation and strong institutions. Local content gives us participation, digitalisation gives us efficiency, insurance gives us resilience, and together they create sustainable and inclusive growth,” she added.
In her welcome address, the Publisher of SuperNews Nigeria, Ngozi Onyeakusi, described the conference as a milestone marking a decade of journalism, professionalism and policy advocacy across Nigeria’s financial services, insurance, telecommunications and oil and gas sectors.
She said the event was designed to encourage discussions on how technology, policy reforms and local content implementation could strengthen collaboration between the oil and gas and insurance industries.
Onyeakusi said the conference also sought to promote compliance with Sections 49 and 50 of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act.
She noted that the enactment of the Nigeria Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025 and the ongoing recapitalisation exercise in the insurance sector had created opportunities for stronger underwriting capacity and improved global competitiveness.
She commended regulators, industry leaders and corporate partners, including the National Insurance Commission, Nigerian Communications Commission, National Pension Commission and other stakeholders, for supporting the conference and promoting discussions aimed at advancing sustainable national development.
