By Cross Udo, Abuja
Speaker of Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, Udeme Otong has assured the Managing Director of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund, NSITF, Maureen Allagoa of the cooperation of the Assembly in the implementation of the Employees Compensation Scheme (ECS) in the state.
The Speaker, a veteran unionist, who gave the assurance while receiving the Management of NSITF in Uyo, told the delegation that the Legislature will cooperate with the State Executive to ensure the implementation of the ECS.
He promised to further discuss with the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Pastor Umo Eno, whom he described as worker-friendly, on the application of the Scheme for the benefit of all Akwa Ibom people. He also applauded NSITF for upholding the ECS.
In his address, the Regional Manager of the Port Harcourt Region of the NSITF, Dr. Goeffrey Otokito, who led the delegation on behalf of the Managing Director, thanked the Speaker for the audience, asserting that the ECS was created to lift the lots of the Nigerian workers.
Otokito had earlier led the NSITF team, which included the Uyo Branch Manager, Azuka Umejei to the Akwa Ibom State Head of Service, Elder Effiong Essien to consolidate discussions on the ECS.
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Essien informed the delegation that a committee headed by his office was set up by the state government on the ECS, saying that the report had been forwarded to the Governor.
He additionally pledged to press on with the matter as the benefit was huge to elude workers in Akwa Ibom State.
Meanwhile, a non-governmental organization, the Coalition for Civil Society and Human Rights has bestowed a meritorious service award on the Managing Director of the NSITF, Maureen Allagoa.
Making the presentation over the weekend in Abuja, the Director General of the organization, Takalis Dan Daura said the award was in recognition of the immense contributions of Allagoa to social inclusion through the operations of the Employees Compensation Scheme.
Stating that social security was key in poverty reduction and crime prevention, Dan Daura commended Allagoa for broadening the frontiers of the NSITF in a few months in the saddle as the chief executive of the Fund.
A statement by Nwachukwu Godson, General Manager of Corporate Affairs of the Fund quoted Daura as saying, “We took time to check the records of the chief executive officers of many agencies to measure their achievements against set goals as well as their impacts on the Nigerian public. The NSITF under you came out as the winner.
“We are encouraged by the number of persons who are currently under various social security benefits that the NSITF provides. We noted the increase in the number of persons in the period under review and the very active branches in all states taking social inclusion even to the informal sector, where over 80 percent of the Nigerian workers eke out their living. This is unlike most government agencies whose offices are dormant beyond Abuja and some state capitals.”
Allagoa dedicated the award to the “hardworking management and staff of the NSITF”, describing them as “winners.” She remarked how overly humbled, she was, receiving the honour, and added that the task ahead was enormous for any member of staff or management to rest on his or her oars.
