By Victor Ahiuma-Young

Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) said it has disbursed N267 million under the Employees Compensation Act, ECA, in the last four years. Speaking on the performance of the programme at the 58th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA)  in Lagos , Managing Director of NSITF, Alhaji Umar Munir, said that the amount disbursed so far covered 2,800 employees, who have suffered one degree of injury or the other in the line of duty.

Represented by Mr. Ismail Agaka, General Manager, Lagos Corporate office, Munir said “It is a scheme that is still growing, but not without its own challenges as the acceptance from the employers is still very low. We have those who are not contributing, and those that registered for the scheme and still refused to contribute.”

He noted that the compliance among the public sector was nothing to write home about, while that of the private sector was below average, but he reasoned that  it was growing when compared to the initial years. According to him, “We are working on the employers through NECA and the organised labour. It is a scheme for the future, in Nigeria, social protection scheme is still growing and we believe that it is sustainable.”

Agaka said part of encouraging employers to join the scheme, was the annual reward given to the companies that have credible compliance status, the programme which was jointly managed by NSITF and NECA. At the event, seven ambulances and other safety equipments were distributed to companies who were adjudged to have fulfilled safety measures as set out by the two organisations.

In response to the credibility of NSITF  to successfully manage the programme, Agaka said NSITF remained the only government agency who had been able to give appropriate account of its proceedings over the years.

He recalled, “Between 1961 to 1994, under National Pension Fund, we collected, N900million, and when it was transformed to NSITF, between 1994 to 2004, we collected N44 billion, and when the new pension scheme began, NSITF was able to transfer N65 billion to the Trust Fund, this shows that we are accountable, reliable and transparent.”

Director General of NECA, Segun Oshinowo, however, charged NSITF to put in place measure that would classify employers according to their risk level in terms of contribution to the scheme. payment with such company that operates in the aviation industry or any other volatile sector.