… Faleye promises to leave no stone unturned
The Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) has vowed to implement stricter enforcement measures against non-compliant employers, particularly state and local governments, to ensure broader coverage under the Employees’ Compensation Scheme (ECS).
Speaking at a media parley with the Labour Correspondents Association of Nigeria and the launch of a comprehensive enlightenment and enrollment campaign on Wednesday, NSITF Managing Director, Oluwaseun Faleye, emphasized the agency’s commitment to driving compliance among Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).
Federal Government Boosts Support for Employee Coverage
Faleye noted the Federal Government’s increasing interest in ensuring workers across MDAs are covered under the ECS, adding that high-level engagements are already yielding results.
“I just received a letter from the Head of Service yesterday, reiterating our commitment to this scheme and advising the relevant parties to cooperate with us. At the federal level, we have seen much more interest by the leadership to engage the fund and to bring the employees under the scheme. Given that we have enumerated the benefits to them, they now understand its importance. What is left for us is to operationalize that,” he stated.
To ensure smooth operations, NSITF’s Compliance and Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) teams are set to meet with the Head of Service. However, Faleye acknowledged budgetary constraints as a key challenge in some MDAs, which the agency is addressing through advocacy and awareness campaigns.
“Many of these budgetary issues stem from a lack of awareness. So we are tackling them systematically—raising awareness, ensuring they budget for these contributions, and following up on payments. It’s a work in progress,” he explained.
States and Local Governments Lagging in Compliance
Despite progress at the federal level, Faleye raised concerns over widespread non-compliance among state and local governments, which has impacted overall subscription numbers.
“One area where we have real challenges is with local and state governments. This explains why, despite having 7.6 million subscribers, the number could be much higher if all local and state governments were fully subscribed.
“Unfortunately, many states remain largely non-compliant. However, we intend to engage them further to bring the scheme to the sub-national level. We are pleased to announce that Lagos State is fully subscribed, and we hope this will encourage other states to follow suit,” Faleye stated.
Legal Action Against Non-Compliant Employers
In a bid to boost enforcement, NSITF has initiated legal action against organizations failing to remit their statutory contributions. The agency is also seeking enhanced enforcement powers from the National Assembly.
“Our legal department has a clear strategy for going after defaulting subscribers. We have taken several organizations to court, and we are already seeing improvements in compliance,” Faleye said.
“So, moving forward, our approach will involve legal action against non-compliant organizations, coupled with continued engagement and persuasion. However, we are also pushing for stronger enforcement powers from the National Assembly. In fact, after this event, I will be heading there with the Head of Legal Affairs to continue discussions on reviewing our law to strengthen enforcement.”
Prioritizing Workplace Safety and Financial Sustainability
Addressing concerns about NSITF’s service delivery, Faleye clarified that the agency is focused on operational improvements while reviewing past projects. He reaffirmed that workplace safety remains a core focus, with significant investments in health and safety awareness, audits, and training.
On the financial sustainability of NSITF, he assured that the agency is implementing preventive measures to safeguard employee compensation funds from unnecessary deductions.
“Our priority is ensuring that workers get their due compensation promptly and that the funds allocated for this purpose are protected,” he concluded.
NSITF remains committed to expanding coverage, enforcing compliance, and strengthening social security protections for Nigerian workers, with plans to intensify engagements at all levels of government.