By Sola Alabadan

SanlamAllianz, formed from the merger of Allianz and Sanlam, will begin 12-city nationwide roadshow on June 23, following the brand’s recent official introduction to the Nigerian market.
The campaign, which will take place in Lagos, Ibadan, Akure, Warri, Port Harcourt, Uyo, Onitsha, Enugu, Owerri, Kano, Jos, and Abuja, is part of the company’s strategic effort to deepen customer engagement, and raise awareness about the brand and insurance.
It is also intended to demonstrate the company’s commitment to making wealth creation and financial protection capabilities more accessible to individuals and businesses in the country.
Speaking on this initiative, Tunde Mimiko, MD/CEO of SanlamAllianz Life Insurance, said: “This nationwide campaign signals the scale of our ambition and the depth of our commitment to the Nigerian market. At the heart of insurance is trust, and trust begins with presence. Reaching customers where they are is fundamental to how we are building SanlamAllianz.
“This roadshow is a strategic move to bridge the gap between perception and reality, allowing us to engage directly with our customers and Nigerians in general, challenge long-held misconceptions, and position insurance as a practical tool for thriving in financial confidence, building resilience and long-term financial security.”
As part of the roadshow, SanlamAllianz will hold customer engagement forums in each of the 12 cities. The in-person sessions allow customers to interact directly with the company’s leadership and frontline teams. The forums aim to reconnect with customers under the unified brand and reaffirm its long-term commitment to the local market.
“Insurance only becomes relevant when it is understood, trusted, and connected to the realities people face,” said Yomi Onifade, MD/CEO of SanlamAllianz General Insurance.
“These forums are our way of reintroducing SanlamAllianz not just as a merged entity, but as a unified brand committed to showing up for Nigerians. We are creating a platform for real conversations — to listen, address concerns, and deepen understanding. This is how SanlamAllianz intends to lead, by listening actively, showing up with solutions, and shaping a future where insurance is truly embedded in the fabric of everyday Nigerian life,” he added.
By adopting a city-by-city physical rollout, SanlamAllianz Nigeria is positioning itself as one of the few players actively investing in deeper grassroots engagement toward deepening insurance penetration in Nigeria.

By Sola Alabadan

In order to equip civil servants with knowledge and tools to effectively manage and benefit from the Group Life Assurance Policy, the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) and the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF) recently organised a capacity-building workshop on the compulsory insurance policy in Abuja.

Section 9(3) of the Pension Reform Act 2014 mandates employers to maintain a Group Life Assurance policy for their employees, with a benefit of at least three times the employee’s annual total emolument.

The workshop brought together stakeholders from government ministries, departments, and agencies to enhance understanding and implementation of the policy.

In her opening remarks, Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack, Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, represented by Mrs. Oyekunle Patience, emphasised the importance of insurance in safeguarding public servants’ welfare and ensuring financial security for their families. She commended President Bola Tinubu for renewing the annuity policy and applauded NAICOM for initiating the training.

The Commissioner for Insurance, Mr. Olusegun Omosehin, represented by Mr. Ekerete Ola Gam-Ikon, Deputy Commissioner for Finance and Administration, expressed appreciation for the collaboration and assured participants of NAICOM’s commitment to transparency and accountability in policy implementation.

The workshop aimed to equip civil servants with knowledge and tools to effectively manage and benefit from the Group Life Assurance Policy, a critical component of the Federal Government’s welfare package.
The event marked a significant step in strengthening life insurance policy implementation across the federal civil service, reinforcing the government’s dedication to employee well-being.

The Director General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Ms. Omolola Oloworaran, has raised alarm over widespread non-compliance with the Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2014 by media organisations in Nigeria, revealing that newspaper owners owe journalists over N720 million unpaid pension contributions.
Speaking during a courtesy visit to the President of the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (NPAN), Mr. Kabiru Yusuf, in Abuja recently , Ms. Oloworaran described the findings as “very troubling” and called for urgent collaboration between PenCom and newspaper proprietors to enforce compliance across the sector.
PenCom acknowledged the deep value of the role of the media in shaping public discourse, and said it is disheartening that many organisations within the media are failing to meet a fundamental obligation to their employees.
The Director General said PRA 2014 mandates all employers to remit pension contributions for their employees monthly, within seven days of salary payment.
However, she said PenCom’s investigations show that many newspaper houses have ignored this obligation, with arrears totalling over N720 milliiaon.
Ms. Oloworaran informed NPAN that PenCom is not seeking to penalise erring organisations at this stage, but prefers a collaborative approach to achieving sector-wide compliance.
She added that PenCom has been engaging employers across industries and recently held discussions with the Nigerian Press Council (NPC) to drive awareness and compliance in newspaper organisations,.
While noting the overall poor compliance within the industry, the DG singled out Daily Trust for commendation, describing the paper as a “leading example” for consistently meeting its pension obligations since 2015.
Responding, NPAN President, Kabiru Yusuf, acknowledged the pension compliance issues in newspaper organisations in Nigeria, but urged PenCom to understand the dire financial situation of the media industry.
NPAN President said the reality is that many newspapers in Nigeria are struggling to even pay staff salaries, let alone pension contributions, adding that only a few are managing to stay afloat, and even among them, there is often reluctance to part with money for statutory payments like tax and pensions.
He welcomed PenCom’s engagement efforts and proposed a broader industry dialogue through the Nigerian Press Organisation (NPO), a coalition that includes NPAN, the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), and the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ). Yusuf suggested that PenCom participate in an expanded meeting of stakeholders in Lagos this year, where the challenges of compliance and potential solutions can be jointly addressed.
Ms. Oloworaran agreed to the proposal, expressing hope that such a forum would serve as a meaningful step toward sustainable pension reform compliance in the media.
“We are not focused on being punitive because the law allows us to sanction. That is not what we are looking at. I believe we can work together to get all these media houses to make the necessary contributions towards the financial security of their workers,” the DG said.
The meeting marked a renewed effort by PenCom to hold employers in the media sector accountable and compliant with the PRA 2014.