The Nigerian Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) yesterday disclosed that it has compensated over 103,000 persons, including 111 persons who got prosthetics limbs, in the last 13 years.
This is just as the fund said it is targeting 1m employers to extend the benefit of the scheme to more people.
Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the NSITF, Mr. Oluwaseun Faleye, stated this in Lagos at the opening of a two-day retreat organised by the agency for the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Labour, Employment and Productivity with the theme, “Building a Stronger NSITF.”
Faleye in the same vein also lamented the deduction of 40 per cent from the agency, declaring that NSITF is not a revenue generating agency.
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He added that over 164,000 employers and 8.4 million employees were also registered, while the agency conducted 25,000 Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) activities.
He said, “We have recently taken significant steps to enhance compliance and broaden our impact. In a key development, we’ve engaged with the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation to issue a circular to all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs). This circular directs immediate compliance with the Federal Executive Council’s approval for 1% Employees’ Compensation Scheme deductions from MDA budgets.
“This initiative is crucial, but its success depends heavily on your support. We will need your assistance to ensure adherence by the MDAs during their budget defence processes. Your advocacy in this area will be instrumental in making the fund more robust and effective.”
The CEO stated that the fund is working towards ensuring that the resources spent internally on providing welfare packages for its staff is not more than 20 to 25 % of the fund while the rest should go on compensation.
“Our target is to increase the number of employers to 1m and as a result we are improving on our advocacy and there is expected to be a corresponding increase in demand for our services,” he said.
The CEO appealed to members of the National Assembly to help in its enforcement drive to bring more workers into the scheme.
On the 40 per cent deduction, he stated that the fund’s mandate is to utilise any idle fund, saying the agency is engaging with the federal government to exempt it from the deduction.
He added: “We will ensure long-term financial sustainability and effectiveness of NSITF by enhancing risk management practices, and improving service delivery to meet the evolving needs of beneficiaries, while maintaining transparency and accountability.
“The agency is making moves to get the Federal Government’s approval to include the NYSC in the scheme.”
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Employment Labour and Productivity, Senator Diket Plang, said the retreat was timely as it would help the Executive, Legislators and MDAs understand how to tackle issues surrounding compensation of injured and deceased workers.
“This retreat is very timely and I believe NSITF will be better for it in the end. Where the legislators, the executives and the MDAs have understanding of what to do, it will lead to a more successful NSITF,” he said.
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