By Michael Oche
The Managing Director of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), Mr Oluwaseun Faleye, has said the Fund has moved decisively from manual, top-heavy operations to a more digital, efficient and accountable institution in the last two years.
Faleye made this assertion Monday when he received the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Dr. Kamil A. Shoretire, on a familiarisation visit to the NSITF Headquarters in Abuja.
Welcoming the Permanent Secretary and his entourage, the NSITF boss said the visit offered an opportunity to share first-hand the Fund’s reform journey, present realities and aspirations.
Giving details of his stewardship, the MD said when the current Management assumed office in July 2024, it met an institution with significant reliance on manual processes, a management structure heavily concentrated at the top, career stagnation, gaps in deployment of people and resources, and institutional processes that needed modernisation.
He gave a breakdown of key reform steps already taken to include a comprehensive staff audit, which recommendations are being implemented in phases to ensure sustainable, evidence-based reform.
“One of the first things we did was to undertake a comprehensive staff audit and provide an objective assessment of our workforce structure and organisational needs,” he said.
Faleye informed that the Fund also commenced a digital transformation journey to transit from predominantly manual systems to integrated and responsive systems, while addressing structural imbalances through a Voluntary Exit Exercise to create a leaner, more functional organisation with clearer responsibilities and renewed room for career progression.
Speaking on work environment and tools, the NSITF MD disclosed that the Operations Directorate has been relocated to the more modern Mukhtar El-Yakub Building, while branches across the country are being given a facelift, while those offices operating under branch-in-branch arrangements are being provided dedicated office spaces. He added that furniture, ICT equipment, printers and transportation capacity are being deployed progressively, alongside sustained capacity building for staff.
The Managing Director noted that the internal reforms are already translating into expanded coverage for Nigerian workers.
He disclosed that the Fund has successfully onboarded treasury-funded Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs, and has commenced payment of claims, with the first batch of five beneficiaries already having received compensation recently at an event witnessed by the Permanent Secretary.
“We are at an advanced stage of engagement with the Lagos State Government and Taraba State Government, while discussions with a number of other States are progressing,” Faleye said, adding that partnerships with several Federal MDAs and regional organisations are also being strengthened to deepen coverage of the Employees’ Compensation Scheme, especially for workers in the informal and emerging economies.
“After two years, I believe it is fair to say that NSITF is no longer where it was when this Management assumed office. The digital transformation has begun. The organisational structure is being progressively reconfigured. The top-heavy management structure is being addressed,” he said.
Faleye however admitted that the Fund is still a work in progress, with much work to be done in expanding coverage to the informal workforce, strengthening compliance, improving data and digital integration, and enhancing claims administration.
He described the Ministry of Labour and Employment as not just an oversight Ministry, but as a strategic partner in strengthening Nigeria’s social protection architecture, and called for stronger collaboration to accelerate reforms.
“Our commitment is to continue to leave no stone unturned in building an NSITF that is transformed, efficient, effective, accountable and transparent; an institution that workers can trust, employers can engage with confidently, and the Government can rely upon to deliver,” he said.
He also assured that the Management remains committed to its pledge to leave the Fund better than it met it.
“I have repeatedly assured the staff of NSITF that I will leave the Fund better than I met it. That remains my commitment,” Faleye declared.
In his response, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Dr Kamil Shoretire, commended the management of the NSITF for the bold reforms and visible improvements in the Fund and pledged the ministry’s continued support to strengthen the nation’s social security system.
He called on Management of the Fund to collaborate with sister agencies in a bid to include the informal sector into the coverage of ECS, and added that more importantly, the Fund should engage in preventive programmes for safety in workplaces.
