House, Senate C’ttees Advocate Delisting of NSITF from FRA Schedule 1

Juliet Akoje in Abuja

The House Committee on Labour, Employment, and Productivity, alongside its Senate counterpart, has advocated delisting of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) from Schedule 1 of the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA), 2007.

According to a statement issued by the Spokesman of the House of Representatives, Hon. Akin Rotimi, yesterday, the advocacy follows a decision by the National Assembly and the NSITF to strengthen their collaboration, aiming to enhance the NSITF’s capacity to provide a social safety net for workers across both the public and private sectors.

The developments were discussed during a recent two-day retreat in Lagos, organised by the NSITF for members of the House and Senate Committees on Labour, Employment and Productivity to familiarise the committee members with the NSITF’s operations.

The statement further stated that members of both committees urged the NSITF management to intensify efforts to enroll all public sector employees in the Employee Compensation Scheme (ECS), highlighting its social benefits and positive impact on economic productivity.

They also recommended the NSITF engage with relevant agencies to ensure timely collection and remittance of ECS deductions for both Treasury-funded and non-Treasury-funded agencies.

Acknowledging that the NSITF is not a revenue-generating agency, committee members emphasised that delisting it from Schedule 1 of the Fiscal Responsibility Act would not only exempt the NSITF from the mandatory 50% revenue deduction by the Federal Ministry of Finance but also allow for the full utilisation of its funds for its intended beneficiaries.

The General Manager of NSITF, Nwachukwu Godson stated that: “With respect to its service delivery, it was resolved that it is critical for NSITF to undertake a digital transformation of its core functions, departments and programs as well as implement an electronic record system to improve service delivery and show transparency.

In alignment with the management’s plans, the committee urged the fund to embark on extensive advocacy to enable Nigerians better understand the criticality of the mandate of NSITF and the benefits that could accrue to employees if their employers subscribe to the scheme should there be any injury, sickness, death or disability arising from work related activities.

The Chairman of the House Committee on Labour, Employment, and Productivity, Hon. Adegboyega Adefarati, during his remark, commended the capabilities of the new NSITF Managing Director, Oluwaseun Faleye, who presented his roadmap, titled “NSITF Strategic Priorities 2024-2027,” to the committee members.

“From the presentations, no one is in doubt that the Managing Director has the capacity, character, and competence to build a stronger NSITF.  What is left is to give him every support to succeed.”

Senator Diket Plang however expressed satisfaction with the robust engagement during the retreat and pledged the commitment of both committees to leverage their legislative influence to support the NSITF’s success.