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NSITF paid N825 million to injured workers in 2019

By Collins Olayinka, Abuja
07 January 2020   |   2:59 am
The Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), said it spent about N825 million on compensation and rehabilitation of injured workers under its Employees Compensation Scheme (ECS) last year.

The Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), said it spent about N825 million on compensation and rehabilitation of injured workers under its Employees Compensation Scheme (ECS) last year.
 
The Managing Director and Chief Executive of the Fund, Adebayo Somefun, who disclosed this in Abuja, in his New Year message to the staff, explained that the Fund spent more on claims and compensation on the injured than previous years. 
   
While lauding contributors to the fund, Somefun hinted that contribution generation into the Scheme was highest in 2019, since inception of the Scheme in 2011.

   
He explained that the high contribution collection enabled the Management of the Fund to deploy considerable sums in investment on behalf of the Fund in accordance with the prescription of the Employees’ Compensation Act (ECA) 2010.
   
Somefun added that as a result, the NSITF paid more claims in 2019 than in previous years while rehabilitating more employees with work-related disabilities as provided by the ECA.
   
While highlighting the achievements of the Fund in 2019, the NSITF Managing Director said the Fund was able to combine efforts and resources of relevant stakeholders for the prevention of workplace accidents, which included the enforcement of Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) standards.
   
Somefun emphasised that the Management, in its bid to enhance productivity and improve the ease of registration by employers, put in place innovations that would achieve the purpose.
   
Such innovation includes the successful launching of NSITF’s e-Portals for client’s registration and payments, adding, “we are currently working on the e-portal for issuance of NSITF Compliance Certificates to further revolutionise the Fund’s processes.”
   
While expressing his delight over making processes open and keeping information about the Fund in the public domain, the Managing Director disclosed that the NSITF’s place on the 2019 National Freedom of Information Compliance Ranking greatly improved with the Fund occupying 26th position out of 191 public institutions, which featured in the rankings.
 
Somefun, who reiterated the Management’s resolve to continue to improve the operations of the Fund, while delivering on the mandate of the Employees’ Compensation Act, said NSITF is poised to improve its debt recovery drive.

He said the Fund will carry the gains of the ECA to local government authorities, states government and parastatals of the Federal Government while continuing to enforce compliance in the private and informal sectors.
   
The NSITF boss also stressed that the Fund would increase sensitisation of the public and all stakeholders to galvanise support for the Employees’ Compensation Scheme, and also improve public sector compliance.
 
He added that NSITF will equally seek collaboration with other government agencies to further propagate the gains of the ECS.

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