NAICOM is the super regulatory body of the Insurance industry, and in its wisdom, it has decided to shore up the shareholders’ funds of every player by N15 billion.
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It gave till May 29th,2026, for all serious players in the industry to meet the deadline.
Anchor Insurance, the Akwa Ibom State Government-owned Insurance firm, like its other counterparts, also started the process of meeting the deadline quite early and assuredly.
They felt they didn’t have to look too far cos of their unique Shareholding structure.
Akwa Ibom State, which is rapidly showing a strong knack for a strong entrepreneurial spirit with the runaway success of Ibom Air, holds 72%, with other minority shareholders holding 18% of Anchor Insurance.
So it was a no-brainer that the State Government would take up its Rights, which would enable Anchor to reach the limit without breaking a sweat.
The options therefore open to the State Government were to either take up their Rights or decline, which would mean having some other interested parties snatch it all up.
Anchor, from my little research, is a beautiful bride.
From the paltry N100 million PAT they released in 2016, Anchor quickly joined the billionaire boys club, declaring back-to-back PAT in the billions by 2025.
From a N2.8 billion PAT in 2024, they declared N3.5 billion PAT in 2025.
Their premium income also went up from N34 billion in 2024 and hit the N36 billion mark by 2025, pushing their rating from 41 to 7.
They were already cruising at N15 billion Shareholders Fund, making them an attractive bride if the State Government decided not to take up their Rights.
Now, Gov Umo Eno can be everything but a business spoiler; he is not.
We have seen how he has allowed Ibom Air to run independently, not interfering and allowing it to soar from a regional airline to a serious airline with sub-regional destinations, and with a recent milestone taking off from Uyo straight to Accra.
So it came as a huge surprise to me as a person when I saw the clip of Gov Umo Eno speaking about ‘his intervention in Anchor Insurance.’
Barring the possibility that the clip could be AI-generated, because one has to be cautious, Gov Eno-no try-as we say it on the street.
In the clip, he was seen to have said that he just approved N16 billion to be paid to secure the license of Anchor Insurance.
He continued by saying that that amount could have built a road for the people and that he doesn’t know ‘what they are doing there.’
That he had to pay because of the Akwa Ibom indigenes that worked there, and now that he has put Government money inside, he will send in forensic auditors to look at the books.
Playing politics with the brand strength of a firm like Anchor is unfortunate.
What the Governor was actually saying was that the company was insolvent and that he had to come and bail them out.
From the little figures, I have thrown up, nothing can be further from the truth.
Anchor is a financially viable firm with one of the most experienced and super professional Management teams in the Industry.
Akwa Ibom Government, as the largest shareholder, has four people on its Board, and the regulators have, as we write, not flagged the firm for any red flags that could presuppose that it was struggling; instead, the firm keeps getting commendations from far and wide.
The Governor, by that statement, was just playing politics at the risk of brand demotion of a firm that continues to carry the Akwa Ibom flag with pride.
Telling Akwa Ibom people that he could have built a road was him just doing Pontius Pilate – quickly washing his hands off any failure in delivering specific democratic benefits to the people and putting it squarely on Anchor’s table.
This is sad, because he didn’t have to do it. He could have divested, cashed out, and realized enough money to build another version of the Lagos -Calabar road in his state.
This was so wrong, bullying a corporate citizen who cannot fight back on the altar of soapbox politics.
The damage this could have done to Anchor’s corporate image, especially the misperception of its inability to settle claims, cannot be quantified.
Thankfully, the market has reacted very positively, with analysts seeing the true financial state of the Firm and its immediate prospects continue to bet on it.
Anchor Insurance is today one of Nigeria’s most reliable underwriters with a strong market positioning as a result of its super-efficient management team, which is well-regarded.
Gov Umo Eno should now take his campaign away from the delicate business environment and into the streets and waterways that make up Akwa Ibom.
Come and beat me.
