By Cross Udo, Abuja
The Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA) has commended the management of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund, NSITF, for the innovative measures it has taken to re-position the tripartite agency.
The Director General of NECA, Adewale Oyerinde, made the commendation while on a working visit to the NSITF last Friday. NECA, alongside the Organized Labour and Government, constitutes the tripartite ownership of the NSITF.
Oyerinde, who appreciated the critical role the NSITF plays in stabilizing the world of work, pledged the continued support of the Organised Private Sector (OPS) to the fund as a social partner despite the turns in the national economy.
The NECA DG in a statement issued by Nwachukwu Godson, General Manager, Corporate Affairs, was quoted as saying, “We have noted the many innovations that you brought in during this one year, and from far within our space, we have also noticed how much stability you have brought to the fund.
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“We have also noted the direction that the fund seems to have now, especially the openness to engage because I know your Executive Director, Operations has been in Lagos twice. To us, this openness to engage has endeared the fund the more. So, kudos to the fund and its leadership.”
The NECA boss, who took a close-up on recent measures and activities of the NSITF, urged the management to remain focused as a responsible agency.
“One of the things we strongly believe in is responsible enterprises, an employer that is responsible to its internal and external stakeholders – internal stakeholders – its employees within the context of salary payment, welfare issues, an employer that is responsible to its community and how much it can do within the context of corporate social responsibilities, an employer that is responsible to the government within the context of paying the taxes and so many other contributions.”
Speaking on the new Federal Government policy on 50 per cent deduction of Gross Inflow under the Fiscal Responsibility Act and the listing of the
NSITF among the agencies affected by the deduction of internally generated revenue, Oyerinde explained that “NECA is of the strong view that the contributions by the employers to the NSITF are not revenue to the government.”
Earlier in her welcome address, the Managing Director of the NSITF, Maureen Allagoa, who declared NECA as the Fund’s most reliable social partner in the administration of the Employees’ Compensation Scheme (ECS), noted that the Organised Private Sector which NECA represents is responsible for over 80 per cent of the ECS contributions collected in 2023, saying that the figure is expected to rise in 2024.
She said the NSITF appreciates the support and partnership of NECA and considers the organized private sector invaluable for the continued administration of the ECS.
Noting that the Fund will continue to partner and consult NECA in all major decisions that affect the two, Allagoa stated that it was on the advice of NECA that it introduced a modified one-off registration fee of N20,000 for new registering employers and a recurring certificate processing fee of N30,000 for employers requesting for a compliance certificate.
She added, “Also in line with NECA’s advice and to also justify the value for money, we have decentralised our compliance certificate processing by divesting over 90 per cent of the process to the branches and regions, while the head office only produces the certificate for onward delivery to the employers.”
She explained that this was to drastically shorten the turnaround time for the issuance of certificates, stressing that the ongoing digitization of the Fund via the E-NSITF will reduce the exercise to 48 hours.
Allagoa further urged NECA to assist in the enforcement of the one percent deduction from the total remuneration as stipulated by the ECS instead of one percent of Basic, Housing, Transport (BHT) as still practiced by some private employers, despite an updated communication on the issue by the NECA secretariat.
