NSITF Boss Vows to Reform Agency

James Emejo in Abuja
The newly appointed Managing Director/Chief Executive, Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), Dr. Michael Akabogu, has said the days of financial recklessness and misappropriation in the organisation were over.

He said though the fund had been in the eyes of the storm in recent times, leading to bad public perception, measures have been put in place to redeem its image moving forward.

Akabogu, while unveiling his agenda to drive the NSITF during an interactive session with journalists in Abuja, also said that the sum N180 billion had been generated from employers contribution between 2011 and 2021.

He promised to ensure prompt payment of claims and widen the spread of enrollees adding that over seven million employees are currently covered by the scheme.
Akabogu also stated that it had settled claims and applications of over 52, 000 beneficiaries since inception of the fund in 2011.

He also said out the 200,000 enrollees, only about 170,000 are currently active.
The NSITF MD, however said the new leadership would embark on the automation of services and migrate its operational procedures from manual to electronic platform to reduce delivery time from the current 14 days to 11 days.

He also lamented that the operators of Ponzi schemes had in the past taken undue advantage of the NSITF operational gaps to fleece unsuspecting members of the public but hoped that automation will provide solutions to these and many other challenges confronting the fund.

Akabogu, who was a general manager in charge of risks in the fund, promised to deploy his expertise to “clear the banana peels” and reposition the organisation.
He said he will be unveiling an elaborate policy blueprint for the fund in the two months.
He said: “We are all insiders and we know where the problems lie. This organisation will be a new kid on the block.”

He added that even though the fund had been assigned negative perception in the past, the sordid experiences will never be repeated going forward.
He pointed out that all past infractions had been duly investigated while those found culpable were being prosecuted and recovery of properties initiated.
Among other things, the MD said he will also focus on creating pathway to reward staff excellence as well as commit to their welfare.

He said he will reposition the public perception of the fund and showcase what it is all about – and introduce performance index to measure staff productivity and attitude to work.
Akabogu’s appointment followed the approval of President Muhammadu Buhari for the reconstitution of the NSITF management board as well as the recommendations in the Report of the Presidential Joint Board and Audit Investigation Panel set up in July 2020 to investigate the infractions of the Public Procurement Act, 2007, and the Financial Regulations (FR) in the NSITF.
The mandate of the NSITF is to provide compensation to insured employees in case of work-related diseases, disability, injuries, or death.