Stakeholders Call for Strengthening of Insolvency Institutions in Nigeria

Oluchi Chibuzor

Stakeholders at the just concluded 2025 insolvency conference in Nigeria have called for the strengthening of insolvency institutions to assist practitioners in effective performance and attainment of best practices in the adoption of appropriate tools for resolving chronic indebtedness and insolvency issues.

The call was made in Lagos during the Business Recovery and Insolvency Practitioners Association of Nigeria (BRIPAN) 2025 conference, organised by the association recently.

Speaking at the event, Chief Judge of the Federal High Court of Nigeria, Hon. Justice John Tsoho, said the essence of the conference was to invite discussions on strategies for restructuring and insolvency during the period of economic challenges. 

Represented by Justice Akintayo Aluko, Tsoho told the participants that as professionals, they must shun the practice of using confidential and sensitive information for personal benefit.

He stated, “This will invite discussions and highlights on the roles of all stakeholders, namely – the judiciary, regulatory bodies and insolvency practitioners.

“No doubt, stakeholders like the insolvency practitioners, regulatory bodies and the judiciary have fundamental roles to play in the quest for restructuring and insolvency and proceedings relating to same.

“The conference is expected to invite discussions on the fundamental ethical principles and ethos required of insolvency practitioners as conventional codes and rules of practice for resolving commercial and financial challenges of businesses. These ethical rules include observing integrity, independence, impartiality and transparency.”

Tsoho advised practitioners to act in the best interest of beneficiaries and avoid “seeking personal gains from insolvency practitioners’ fiduciary duty of care”.

He urged, “Observing good faith and honesty, avoiding conflict of interest while performing their duty, maintenance of confidentiality of sensitive corporate information and insolvency practitioners must shun the practice of using confidential and sensitive information for personal benefit.”

He stated that insolvency practitioners must learn the basic tools for resolving chronic indebtedness and insolvency complications, which included receivership, administration. arrangement and compromise, merger and acquisition, bankruptcy and winding up.

According to him, “An insolvency practitioner will need to adopt any of the above tools in resolving issues relating to chronic indebtedness in the best interest of the creditor and the debtor companies.

“The role of an Insolvency Practitioner in the life of a company under insolvency is significant. It is to be noted that a state of Insolvency does not necessarily signal the end of a business under insolvency.

“The insolvency practitioner has to choose his tool while observing the requisite codes of ethics. There are different kinds of insolvency options capable of revitalizing a company under insolvency or turning its corporate life and existence around.”

President of BRIPAN, Chimezie Ihekweazu, SAN, said the theme for the year, “Deepening Insolvency Tools for Resolving Commercial and Financial Challenges of Businesses,” could not be timelier.

Ihekweazu stated, “In the country today and across the globe, businesses are grappling with dynamic economic pressures, geopolitical uncertainties, technological disruptions and fluctuating financial markets.

“Here in Nigeria and across Africa, we are not immune to these challenges. It has therefore become imperative to sharpen and deepen the tools at our disposal for business rescue, debt restructuring, and sustainable recovery.”

Justice Victoria Nwoye, in her submission, said in an era marked by global volatility – be it geopolitical tensions, supply chain disruptions, inflationary pressures, or technological upheaval – businesses faced unprecedented financial strain.

Nwoye stated, “Across many jurisdictions, insolvency regimes remain underdeveloped, overly punitive, or inaccessible to the very businesses that need them most.

“Be it small enterprises or multinational corporations, the ability to navigate distress is no longer a peripheral concern; it is central to survival and growth. Insolvency frameworks are not merely legal instruments. They are economic stabilisers.”