—Says prevention of accidents top priority

By Johnbosco Agbakwuru

ABUJA — MANAGING Director of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund, NSITF, Barr Oluwaseun Faleye, has described violation of safety rules as a national burden that has three painful dimensions.

This is as Faleye has said that accidents prevention is a top priority for the Fund.

He said every compensation is a story of pain and no amount of compensation can replace a human life and that the Fund is strengthening safety compliance initiatives, investing in digital systems for claims processing, building capacity across industries, and collaborating with organizations to maintain global best practices.

Faleye spoke at the 15th International Safety Conference and Awards 2025 with the Theme: ‘From Tragedy To Transformation: Learning from the Cost of Violating Safety Rules,” held at the Federal Ministry of Works, Mabushi Abuja.

In his keynote address, the NSITF MD represented by General Manager of the Health, Safety and Environment, HSE, Department of NSITF, Tesh Kibikiwa, told the gathering of experts that violating safety rules is a national burden which has three painful dimensions.

According to him: “There is the human cost when workers lose limbs, livelihoods, and sometimes their lives, families suffer emotional trauma and economic hardship, and children are forced out of school because a parent’s income has suddenly vanished.

“Then there is the organizational cost where companies suffer reputational damage, loss of productivity, equipment losses, litigation, and downtime. Many businesses underestimate these costs until tragedy strikes and then the price becomes too high.

“There is also the national economic cost. injuries and fatalities contribute to lost GDP, reduced manpower, higher health costs, and a weakened labour force,” he stressed.

While aligning with the theme of the conference, the NSITF Managing Director stressed the importance of safety to every facet of human endeavor and the crucial role it plays to the economic emancipation of any Nation.

He enjoined all stakeholders to prioritize safety as topmost in their day to day engagement in order to mitigate against frequency of accidents in the workplace and called for strengthened collaboration among safety professionals, regulators, employers, unions, training bodies, insurance and compensation institutions

Other speakers at the event included the Minister of State for Works, Barr. Bello Muhammed Goronyo, the President OSH Association UK – Nigeria Region, Dr. Amb. Olusegun Aderemi, as well as the representative of the Minister of Regional Development, Engr Abubakar Momoh.