The Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) is set to disburse over N172 million in compensation to seven employees of various organizations under the Employees’ Compensation Scheme (ECS).
Speaking on Wednesday at the maiden International Civil Service Conference in Abuja, NSITF Managing Director, Barrister Oluwaseun Faleye, emphasized the Fund’s robust financial capacity to cushion the impact of work-related incidents.
He revealed that NSITF had recently paid N25 million to an employee of the National Assembly who suffered a work-related injury and N18.65 million to the family of a deceased staff member of the Planned Parenthood Federation of Nigeria.
“Next week, we will present cheques of N31.1 million to an employee of Nestlé Nigeria Plc, N4.9 million to an employee of Polaris Bank, and N15.4 million to an employee of Medplus. Others include N86 million to an employee of Mobil Producing Nigeria, N15.6 million to an employee of Zenith Bank, N7.8 million to an employee of Alexander Marius Investment Limited, and N11.7 million to an employee of Unity Bank Plc,” Barrister Faleye announced.
He expressed concern about the low level of implementation of the Employees’ Compensation Scheme across state and local government levels, as well as within the public sector. “Imagine how many colleagues in the public sector across Nigeria could benefit from this scheme if it was fully implemented,” he said. “This support helps workers and their families recover from the financial and emotional strains caused by work-related incidents, allowing them to maintain a reasonable quality of life.”
The NSITF boss also highlighted the Fund’s role in facilitating rehabilitation and the reintegration of injured or ill employees into the workforce. “We also focus on prevention by conducting workplace health and safety audits, creating awareness, and reducing the risk of injuries, illnesses, and death. This is what resilience looks like — knowing that when you give your best in service, the system will be there to support you when challenges arise,” he added.
He called on stakeholders to advocate for the scheme’s widespread adoption across all tiers of government. “This is about operationalizing the law for the benefit of all workers. We are committed to making the scheme effective, efficient, and transparent so it can fulfill its promise of compensation and rehabilitation for every worker in Nigeria,” he concluded.
