VP Shetima Hails “New” NSITF as Faleye insists Social Insurance Catalyst not Cost

By Chinedu Echianu

The Vice President, Kashim Shetima has hailed the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund,(NSITF), calling it the “New NSITF,” in an apparent approval of the effort of the Barrister Oluwaseun Faleye-led management efforts at repositioning the Fund to better serve Nigerian workers.

Vice President Kashim Shetima, who visited the exhibition stand of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund, NSITF at the ongoing National Manpower Summit holding at the State House Banquet Hall, Presidential Villa, Abuja, Tuesday, was visibly impressed by what he saw.

Commending the Fund’s management, the Vice President said, “NSITF is back, stronger and better.”

The Vice President stood in for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on the occasion which also had members of the National Assembly, serving ministers including: Dr Muhammad Dingyadi, Minister of Labour and Employment; Ayodele Olawande, Youth Development; Dr. Jumoke Oluwole and John Owen Enoh, Honourable minister and minister of state respectfully of Industry, Trade and Investment, and the Permanent Secretary, Ambassador Mura Baba Rimi. Also in attendance were the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Industrial Training and Development, Honourable Adamson Oluwatosin Ayinde, Comrade Festus Osifo, president of the Trade Union Congress, TUC and Managing Director NSITF, Barrister Oluwaseun Faleye among other stakeholders.

Speaking at the opening plenary, NSITF’s Managing Director described Social protection as catalyst for a stable and fair labour market.

The Managing Director said, “I urge every policymaker, employer and stakeholder here to see workplace compensation and social protection as not a cost, but a catalyst, one that enables a stable, fair and forward-looking labour market.”

Speaking to the reason for the gathering, Barrister Faleye said, “We are not just gathered to talk about jobs and skills, but to look deeply into the kind of future we are building for our workforce.”

Faleye noted that Nigeria is on an industrial transformation and at a critical sector in its development with a teeming youth population. He advocated the deployment of the right people, skills and strategy to build globally competitive industries. He likewise argued in favour of a compressive and forward-looking manpower framework to harness the potentials of Nigeria’s vigorous population.

“A well-structured manpower framework is not just a bureaucratic document. It is a roadmap for our educational institutions, our training centres, our employers and our workforce. It should align with market demands. It must also anticipate future trends in automation, digitization and green jobs. It should also ensure no Nigerian is left behind, whether in the urban centres or rural communities,” he said.

Barrister Faleye hinged the success of any manpower framework and strategy on comprehensive social protection for workers such as provided by the Fund through the Employee Compensation Scheme, ECS. “Beyond training and deployment, such policy must also protection,” he argued.

He went on to expatiate the benefits of the ECS: “We provide compensation to workers who suffer injuries, diseases, disabilities or even death in the course of employment.”

“We are here to ensure that workers who give their strengths and skills to building this nation are not abandoned in times of vulnerability. We provide medical care, rehabilitation, wage replacement and support to affected families,” he stated further.

The Managing Director submitted that the employees compensation scheme was not charity but justice.