By Johnbosco Agbakwuru
ABUJA— THE Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) has shed its manual, top-heavy past and is now a digital, efficient and accountable institution, its Managing Director Oluwaseun Faleye has declared.
Faleye made the assertion on Monday, when he received the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Dr Kamil Shoretire, on a familiarisation visit to the NSITF headquarters in Abuja.
Welcoming the Permanent Secretary and his entourage, Faleye said the visit offered an opportunity to share “first-hand the Fund’s reform journey, present realities and aspirations.”
He told the ministry team that 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.”
Quoting the late Chinua Achebe, Faleye said: “A man who does not know where the rain began to beat him cannot say where he dried his body,” adding that management had to confront those realities honestly as the starting point for reform.
Faleye said one of the first steps taken was a comprehensive staff audit to provide “an objective assessment of our workforce structure and organisational needs,” with recommendations being implemented in phases to ensure sustainable, evidence-based reform.
He added 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.
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, and offices operating under branch-in-branch arrangements are being provided dedicated office spaces.
He said furniture, ICT equipment, printers and transportation capacity are being deployed progressively, alongside sustained capacity building for staff.
Faleye noted that 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,” Faleye said.
“The digital transformation has begun. The organisational structure is being progressively reconfigured. The top-heavy management structure is being addressed,” he added.
However, Faleye 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,” Faleye said.
He also assured that 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, Permanent Secretary Dr Kamil Shoretire commended NSITF management 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 the Employees’ Compensation Scheme, and added that more importantly, the Fund should engage in preventive programmes for safety in workplaces.
Shoretire, who lauded management of NSITF for support to the ministry, called for co-operation between management and the board of the Fund to ensure the smooth running of its operations.
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