The Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) says it is now a fully digital, effective and accountable institution.
Managing Director of the Fund, Mr Oluwaseun Faleye, stated this in Abuja on Monday, when he received the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Dr. Kamil Shoretire, on a familiarisation visit to the NSITF Headquarters.
Faleye said the Organisation has moved decisively from “manual, top-heavy operations to a more digital, efficient and accountable institution in the last two years”.
Welcoming the Permanent Secretary and his entourage, the NSITF boss said the visit offered an opportunity to share first-hand the Fund’s reform journey, present realities and aspirations.
Giving details of his stewardship, the Managing Director said that when the current Management assumed office in July 2024, it met an institution with significant reliance on manual processes, a management structure heavily concentrated at the top, career stagnation, gaps in deployment of people and resources, and institutional processes that needed modernisation.
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He stated that it became pertinent that the Management had to confront those realities honestly as the starting point for reform.
Mr Faleye gave a breakdown of key reform steps already taken, including a comprehensive staff audit, “whose recommendations are being implemented in phases to ensure sustainable, evidence-based reform.
“One of the first things we did was to undertake a comprehensive staff audit and provide an objective assessment of our workforce structure and organisational needs”, he said.
Faleye disclosed that the Fund also commenced a digital transformation journey to transition from predominantly manual systems to integrated and responsive systems, while addressing structural imbalances through a Voluntary Exit Exercise to create a leaner, more functional organisation with clearer responsibilities and renewed room for career progression.
Speaking on work environment and tools, the NSITF boss disclosed that the Operations Directorate has been relocated to the more modern Mukhtar El-Yakub Building, while branches across the country are being given a facelift, and those offices operating under branch-in-branch arrangements are being provided dedicated office spaces.
He added that furniture, ICT equipment, printers and transportation capacity are being deployed progressively, alongside sustained capacity building for staff.
The Managing Director noted that the internal reforms are already translating into expanded coverage for Nigerian workers.
He disclosed that the Fund has successfully onboarded treasury-funded Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs, and has commenced payment of claims, with the first batch of five beneficiaries already having received compensation recently at an event witnessed by the Permanent Secretary.
“We are at an advanced stage of engagement with the Lagos State Government and Taraba State Government, while discussions with several other States are progressing”.
Faleye added that partnerships with several Federal MDAs and regional organisations are also being strengthened to deepen coverage of the Employees’ Compensation Scheme ECS, especially for workers in the informal and emerging economies.
“After two years, I believe it is fair to say that NSITF is no longer where it was when this Management assumed office.
“The digital transformation has begun, the organisational structure is being progressively reconfigured, the top-heavy management structure is being addressed”, he said.
Faleye, however, admitted that the Fund is still a work in progress, with much work to be done in expanding coverage to the informal workforce, strengthening compliance, improving data and digital integration, and enhancing claims administration.
He described the Ministry of Labour and Employment as not just an oversight Ministry, but as a strategic partner in strengthening Nigeria’s social protection architecture, and called for stronger collaboration to accelerate reforms.
“Our commitment is to continue to leave no stone unturned in building an NSITF that is transformed, efficient, effective, accountable and transparent; an institution that workers can trust, employers can engage with confidently, and the Government can rely upon to deliver”, he said.
He also assured that the Management remains committed to its pledge to leave the Fund better than it met it.
“I have repeatedly assured the staff of NSITF that I will leave the Fund better than I met it. That remains my commitment”, Faleye reassured.
In his response, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Dr Kamil Shoretire, commended the Management of the NSITF for the bold reforms and visible improvements in the Fund and pledged the Ministry’s continued support to strengthen the nation’s social security system.
He called on the Management of the Fund to collaborate with sister agencies in a bid to include the informal sector in the coverage of ECS, and added that the Fund should engage in preventive programmes for safety in workplaces.
Dr. Shoretire, who lauded the Management of NSITF for supporting the Ministry, called for co-operation between Management and the Board of the Fund to ensure the smooth running of its operations.
The Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund NSITF) is one of the Parastatals under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment.
