The private sector operators have warned the National Assembly (NASS) not to weaken the Nigerian Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), even as they seek President Bola Tinubu’s intervention.
Speaking under the aegis of the Organised Private Sector of Nigeria (OPSN), comprising the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), the Nigeria Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), the Nigeria Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME), the Nigeria Association of Small Scale Industrialists (NASSI) and other 25 Employers Federations, the operators expressed grave concern over the proposed amendment to the NSITF Act championed by the Senate Committee on Labour and Employment, chaired by Senator Diket Plang.
In a letter written to the Senate president and signed by the five directors-general, the OPSN strongly objects to the proposed changes, which have already passed a second reading in the Senate. ‘These amendments threaten to fundamentally weaken the NSITF governance structure, erode accountability and transparency, and expose the Fund to undue political interference,’ he stressed.
The director general of NECA, Adewale Smatt-Oyerinde, in a statement made available to LEADERSHIP on Sunday, reminded the lawmakers that NSITF was founded on a tripartite structure, representing Government, Employers, and Labour, in strict alignment with International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention 102 on Social Security (Minimum Standards), Convention 144 on Tripartite Consultation, and Convention 87 on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise.
According to Smatt-Oyerinde, since the Conventions, which Nigeria has ratified, require that social security institutions be managed with the full and effective participation of social partners, ensuring that the interests of both contributors and beneficiaries are protected from political or unilateral government control, the Senate has no right to toy with the workability of the governing law.
OSPN explained that the proposed amendment seeks to reduce the representation and influence of employers and workers, who are the main contributors and beneficiaries of the Fund, while increasing government control through political appointments.
“This approach is not only contrary to the spirit and letter of the ILO Conventions but also undermines the principles of good governance, transparency, and accountability that are essential for the effective management of social security funds.
The ILO’s Recommendation 202 on Social Protection Floors further underscores the need for participatory, transparent, and accountable governance in social protection systems, warning against the dangers of politicisation and lack of stakeholder involvement,” they pointed out.
According to OSPN, the management board of the NSITF, as currently constituted, serves as the Trustee and conscience of the Fund. It provides critical checks and balances to ensure that contributors’ resources are managed prudently, transparently, and in the best interests of Nigerian workers.
They said that weakening or replacing this board with a politically dominated structure will erode the Fund’s autonomy, open the door to mismanagement, and ultimately jeopardise the benefits and security of millions of Nigerian workers and their families. They noted that International experience has repeatedly shown that when social security funds are politicised or removed from the oversight of social partners, the result is often inefficiency, loss of public trust, and the erosion of social protection for workers.
