The Nigerian Government has inaugurated the new Board of the Nigeria Social Investment Trust Fund NSITF.
Inaugurating the Board on behalf of the government, Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, charged the Board to instill accountability, transparency and other principles characteristics of good governance in the organisation.
As a way of achieving this, the Minister directed the screening of the academic and National Youth Service Corps, NYSC certificates of staff of the organisation within the next two months.
“In order to maintain, protect and promote a very viable and thriving Organisation, I have four (4) major tasks before the new Management Board of the NSITF.
“To screen and vet the Academic and NYSC Certificates of National Service (CNS) of ALL staff in the Fund.
To ensure the full implementation of the NSITF Restructuring Report.
“To ensure the urgent conclusion of the E-NSITF Phase I and Phase II to enable maximum collection of Contributions from the Public and Private Sectors as well as inch into the Informal sector of the Economy”, he said.
Dr Ngige said that the screening of the academic qualifications of the staff of the Fund has become imperative to avoid falsification of certificates.
It would be recalled that the former NSITF Managing Director, Mr Michael Akabogu, was recently sacked by President Muhammadu Buhari over alleged forged NYSC certificate.
The Board was also challenged to intensify its operational drive in the public sector, which the Minister said was within the dimension of the formal economy.
He said this would ensure that national and sub-national government and States move towards universal coverage to all the workers in Nigeria.
He says, “The Public Sector which is within the dimension of the formal economy would need intensification operational drive to ensure that the Governments – National and Sub-Nationals i.e. the States, move to give universal coverage to ALL the workers in Nigeria.
“The State Governments so far have been non-compliant to the Employees’ Compensation (EC) Act, 2010 which is a national Law….”
Dr Ngige called on all employers of labour in the nation to eschew “subjectivity and to objectively” abide by the provisions of the EC Act 2010 and all its benefits to the workplace occupational safety and health saying that the EC Act 2010 was a National Law which drew from the provisions of the International Labour Organisation Convention No. 102, and replaced the old Workmen Compensation Act.
Restructuring
On the restructuring of NSITF, the Minister said that President Muhammadu Buhari had approved the implementation of the Restructuring Report, which he said the previous Board could not conclude and directed the new Board to ensure the full implementation of the report.
Stressing the importance of employers to make their statutory contributions to the NSITF for the benefit of their employees, Ngige noted that the International Labour Conference, ILC at its 110th session in June 2022, decided “to make a safe and healthy OSH working environment a fundamental principle and right at work with consequential effect on other workplace Declarations of the ILO as safe and healthy working conditions were acknowledged as fundamental to decent work.
“I therefore urge employers to consistently make their required statutory contributions to the Fund for the social security of their workers and aid nationally in the promotion of the decent Work Agenda.
“The work of the Fund would not be limited to EC implementation and enforcement but is intended to be expanded in the future to include some other critical and thematic areas of the ILO Convention no. 102 which the Government of Nigeria, in tripartite consultation with the Social Partners, intends to ratify in parts due to its expansiveness”, Dr Ngige said.
Responding on behalf of the members of the Board, the Chairman, Mr Emmanuel Nwosu and his team recognised the importance of the NSITF to cater for various aspects of social security, including protection of the world of work.
“I want to assure you that we shall leave no stone unturned to deliver on the mandate of the Fund”, he said.
The new Managing Director, Mrs Maureen Allagoa noted the challenges before her and the management team “even more so being the first female to be appointed in this position since the establishment of the NSITF”.
In line with the tripartite composition of the NSITF Management Board as provided by its enabling statute, the following persons were appointed by the President as members of the Management Board.
Chief Emmanuel C. Nwosu – Chairman
Barrister (Mrs.) Maureen N. Allagoa, MD/CE of NSITF – Member
Three NSITF Executive Directors (ED) – Members
i. Modu Gana – ED, Operations
ii. Dr. Gabriel O.C. Okenwa – ED, Administration
iii. Adedeji Babatunde Adegoke – ED, Finance, Investment & Real Estate
Comrade Adewale Adeyanju, Deputy President (NLC) – Member
Comrade Marwan Mustapha Adamu, Financial Secretary (NLC) – Member
Mr. Taiwo Adeniyi, President (NECA) – Member
Mrs. Celine Oni, Director Learning & Development/Projects (NECA) -Member
Mrs Lauretta Nneka Adaogu, Director OSH (FML&E) – Ex-Officio Member
Central Bank of Nigeria – Ex-Officio Member
General Manager, Corporate Affairs NSITF – Interim Secretary.
The NSITF is the nation’s top notch social security Institution founded on a tripod comprising the Government, Employers and Workers.
It is by its nature constituted to cater for various aspects of Social Security including Social Protection in the world of work as covered by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention no. 102 on Social Security Minimum Standards.
Confidence Okwuchi
