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NSITF to intensify staff training, boost efficiency

By Collins Olayinka, Abuja
22 December 2016   |   3:31 am
The Acting Managing Director of the Fund, Ismail Agaka, who stated this recently at the enforcement officers’ training programme in Lagos, said the management has identified capacity building as a remedy for low productivity...
 Ismail Agaka, NSITF Boss

Ismail Agaka, NSITF Boss

Plans are underway by the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) to intensify the training of its staff with a view to increasing their efficiency.

The Acting Managing Director of the Fund, Ismail Agaka, who stated this recently at the enforcement officers’ training programme in Lagos, said the management has identified capacity building as a remedy for low productivity and has embarked on an aggressive training programme to bridge the gap.

The NSITF boss stressed that enforcement is central to the implementation of the Employees’ Compensation Scheme (ECS), which is why it has been a major area of concentration in the organisation’s capacity building programmes.

The NSITF helmsman explained that the term ‘enforcement’ signified use of force such that are employed by the law enforcement agencies, explaining that the term ‘compliance’ would have been more appropriate within the job description of the department.

While calling on employers to willingly enroll their employees on the Scheme, Agaka hinted that an Act of Parliament backs the Employees’ Compensation Scheme (ECS) and so every employer of labour in Nigeria is expected to willingly subscribe to it.

“Because the ECS is new in the country, there is a need for officers of the Fund to persuade employers to comply with the Scheme in order for their employees to benefit from the many advantages as enunciated in the Act. The law is only invoked against a recalcitrant employer when every effort to persuade such employer fails,” he said.

The NSITF helmsman also said that the training programme of the staffers would be continuous exercise.

Speaking at the occasion, the General Manager, Administration, Human Resources and Maintenance, Olusegun Basorun, encouraged the enforcement officers to go the extra mile to stand out in their professional duties.

“Consider the degree that earned you this employment obsolete, ensure you upgrade yourselves from time to time and leverage opportunities such as this, so as to be up to date with world’s best practices while making sure you embrace integrity and hard work,” he said.

On her own part, the General Manager Lagos Region, Mrs Funke Aleshinloye, explained that the economy of Lagos, the commercial capital of Nigeria, is private sector driven which influence the decision of the Fund to lay high premium on enforcement officers’ training and increasing their capacity in order to deliver on their mandate of ensuring employers comply to the requirements of the employees’ compensation scheme.

She added: “It is one thing to have a great product, it is another thing to be able to convincingly present the product to those who are in need of it. Clearly, private businesses stand to benefit from the ECS; otherwise, they might not be able to meet up with their obligations if their employees sustain injuries or dies in the course of work. ECS has already been designed to take care of that, but we must show the employers how attractive the package is”, she said.

Though the number of employers that have registered on the Scheme has continued to rise, Aleshinloye insisted that the rise is still not impressive considering the number of employers in the Lagos region.

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