The Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) has intensified efforts to improve workers’ welfare and social protection, paying the first compensation claims to federal civil servants under the Employees’ Compensation Scheme (ECS).

The Fund has also urged businesses that are embracing artificial intelligence (AI) to prioritise the safety and welfare of their workforce.

These underscore the Fund’s renewed focus on extending social security coverage to workers and ensuring that technological innovation is matched by stronger workplace protection.

About 15 years after the Employees’ Compensation Act (ECA) was signed into law, NSITF has presented compensation cheques totalling N31.72 million to five beneficiaries from treasury-funded ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), marking the first payments to federal civil servants under the scheme.

The beneficiaries comprised families of workers who died in the course of duty and employees who suffered work-related injuries or disabilities.

Managing Director and Chief Executive of NSITF, Oluwaseun Faleye, described the presentation as the fulfilment of a legal obligation rather than a ceremonial event.

“We are not here for a ceremony. We are here to keep a promise. What began as a system on paper has become a cheque in someone’s hand today. That is the distance between policy and people, and today we closed it,” he said.

Faleye noted that although the Employees’ Compensation Act guarantees compensation for workers who suffer occupational injuries, diseases or death in the course of employment, federal civil servants had largely been excluded from its practical application until now.

He attributed the breakthrough to the recent enrolment of federal workers into the Employees’ Compensation Scheme and the establishment of an ECS Help Desk at the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation earlier this year.

He commended the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Esther Walson-Jack, for driving compliance across the public service.

Addressing beneficiaries, Faleye acknowledged that financial compensation could not replace lost loved ones, but also demonstrated that the government had recognised their sacrifice.

He assured families that NSITF would continue improving claims processing while strengthening occupational health and safety standards to reduce workplace accidents.

The beneficiaries are Jae Grace Danture of the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation, Uzochukwu Aguomba of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Olofu Pius Agri of the University of Abuja, Patience Oyekunle Nwankwo of the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and Audu Sanda Eyum of the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD).

The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Walson-Jack, described the compensation as lawful entitlements rather than acts of charity, saying the payments demonstrate the government’s commitment to protecting workers affected by workplace injuries, occupational diseases and fatalities.

She said the implementation of the Employees’ Compensation Scheme for federal civil servants reflects President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to improving workers’ welfare under the Renewed Hope Agenda.

Similarly, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Dr Kamil Ayinde Shoretire, said the scheme reinforces workplace safety and social security for Nigerian workers.

Meanwhile, Faleye has called for a deliberate integration of social protection into Africa’s digital transformation agenda, warning that businesses adopting artificial intelligence must not neglect the welfare and safety of their employees.

Speaking at the launch of the ESBC–InnoPower LLC (USA) Free MSMEs AI Master Training Programme in Abuja, he said the success of digital transformation would depend not only on technology but also on protecting the people driving innovation.

He stated: “Digital transformation and workplace protection are not separate conversations; they are the same conversation. Technology enables businesses to work smarter. Social protection enables people to work with confidence.”

According to him, an enterprise that adopts AI while ignoring workers’ welfare merely modernises its operations without improving its resilience.

Faleye noted that Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), which account for about 96 per cent of businesses in Nigeria, remain central to economic growth, employment creation and poverty reduction.

He described the AI training initiative, organised by the ECOWAS Small Business Coalition in partnership with InnoPower LLC (USA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), as an investment in the future competitiveness of West Africa.

He, however, stressed that as businesses expand across the ECOWAS region through digital technologies, governments and employers must also strengthen occupational safety, workplace protection and social security systems.

“The enterprises that will define Africa’s future will not simply be those that adopt the latest technologies. They will be those that combine innovation with responsibility, ambition with resilience,” he said.

The AI training programme is expected to equip MSMEs across selected ECOWAS countries with skills to deploy Artificial Intelligence for production, marketing and regional trade, while promoting inclusive and sustainable business growth.