The Organised Private Sector, represented by the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, has welcomed the introduction of a N20 billion collective insurance bond.

This bond, backed by a consortium of insurers, is intended to replace the long-standing container deposit system in Nigeria’s maritime trade.

The new scheme, designed to protect international traders and freight-forwarders, marks a major shift toward an insurance-driven framework for container and cargo risk management. Agreed standard premiums are now set for container indemnity, cargo-in-transit, and public liability coverage.

Speaking at an engagement with insurance stakeholders on Wednesday in Lagos, NACCIMA’s President, Engr. Jani Ibrahim, represented by the group’s Director General, Sola Obadimu, emphasised the critical role of insurance in enabling business operations from maritime and oil & gas to agriculture and exports.

The two-day event, held at NACCIMA’s secretariat, dedicated the first day to maritime stakeholders. It highlighted how Section 203 of the newly-assented Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025 outlaws the traditional container-deposit fee and ushers in an insurance-based mechanism for both laden and empty shipping containers. NACCIMA said the reform signals “a new era” in container-risk management.

To drive implementation, NACCIMA proposed setting up an Implementation Committee representing private-sector trade groups (including manufacturers, SMEs, employers), regulators, and all maritime stakeholders. On-boarding for the new system is slated to begin in January 2026.

Obadimu stated: “The private sector will take the lead in implementing the Container Insurance Law in the maritime sector, towards the complete elimination of the deposit fee, as stipulated in law.”

Business-owners were urged to support the shift to an insurance-model. NACCIMA detailed its partnership with consulting firm FRM Communications Limited to digitise container profiling, map stakeholders, and integrate into national trade-facilitation systems.

The scheme, already approved by the Nigerian Ports Authority and the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, will deploy the IMPEX compliance platform to link container insurance to the national export-certificate and single-window systems.

Also speaking, the Managing Director of FRM Communications, Mr. Femi Banjo, encouraged maritime and insurance stakeholders to embrace the process and contribute meaningfully to its smooth implementation.