The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), Oluwaseun Faleye, has urged Nigerian entrepreneurs to make workers’ safety and welfare a priority, warning that business growth cannot be sustainable without protecting employees.
Faleye said Nigerian businesses must recognise that workers are central to enterprise development, stressing that companies cannot become globally competitive if the people responsible for driving their operations are exposed to unsafe working conditions.
He made the call during his goodwill message at the Grow Nigerian Conference 2026, held at the Ecobank Pan African Centre in Victoria Island, Lagos.
The three-day conference, organised by the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), was themed “The Next Frontier for Innovation, Policy and Market Access.” It brought together government representatives, development partners, industry leaders and entrepreneurs.
Faleye commended SMEDAN, led by its Director-General and Chief Executive Officer, Charles Odii, for sustaining the conference as a platform for discussions on business development and economic growth.
He said Nigeria must move beyond encouraging people to establish businesses and focus more on creating an environment where enterprises can survive, expand, compete and generate sustainable employment.
According to him, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) remain critical to Nigeria’s economic transformation because they create jobs, drive innovation and support the livelihoods of families and communities.
He cited manufacturers in Aba, women processors in Kano and young technology entrepreneurs in Lagos as examples of business owners contributing to the country’s economic development.
However, the NSITF chief acknowledged that Nigerian entrepreneurs continue to face significant challenges, including high energy costs, inflation, foreign exchange pressures, limited access to affordable finance, poor infrastructure and logistics difficulties.
He maintained that addressing these obstacles must go hand in hand with protecting employees, noting that business success should not come at the expense of workers’ dignity, health and safety.
“Behind every successful enterprise are people whose skills, commitment and labour sustain its operations. A business cannot truly be considered sustainable if its economic success is achieved at the expense of the safety, dignity and wellbeing of its workforce,” Faleye said.
What NSITF Is Doing to Protect Nigerian Workers
Faleye explained that the NSITF administers the Employees’ Compensation Scheme under the Employees’ Compensation Act, 2010.
The scheme provides compensation and other forms of support to employees who suffer work-related injuries, occupational diseases, disabilities or death.
Its benefits include medical support, rehabilitation and income replacement for eligible workers affected by workplace-related incidents.
He reaffirmed the Fund’s commitment to helping businesses protect their employees through effective implementation of the scheme and the promotion of safer working environments.
Faleye urged entrepreneurs and other stakeholders to embrace a business culture that combines enterprise expansion with responsible treatment of employees.
He said Nigeria’s ambition to build productive, prosperous and globally competitive businesses would require a stronger commitment to workers’ protection.
“Let us grow Nigerian businesses, protect Nigerian workers and build a prosperous, productive and globally competitive Nigeria,” he said.
