…Warn against politicising workers’ Fund

The Organised Private Sector of Nigeria (OPSN) has raised strong objections to the proposed amendment of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) Act, accusing the Senate Committee on Labour and Employment of attempting to weaken the Fund’s governance framework and expose it to political interference.

In a letter to the Senate President, signed by the Directors-General of its five member associations, 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), and the Nigeria Association of Small Scale Industrialists (NASSI), OPSN described the amendment as “a direct threat to transparency, accountability, and the independence of the NSITF.”

“These amendments threaten to fundamentally weaken the NSITF governance structure, erode accountability and transparency, and expose the Fund to undue political interference,” the OPSN warned.

The body reminded the Senate that the NSITF was founded on a tripartite structure representing government, employers, and labour, in line with International Labour Organisation (ILO) Conventions 102, 144, and 87, which Nigeria has ratified. “These Conventions require that social security institutions be managed with the full and effective participation of social partners, ensuring that contributors and beneficiaries are protected from unilateral government control,” the OPSN stated.

It argued that the proposed amendment would dilute the role of employers and workers — the main contributors and beneficiaries of the Fund — while strengthening government dominance through political appointments. “This approach undermines good governance and violates ILO principles of transparency and accountability,” the group added.

According to the OPSN, the current NSITF Management Board acts as “the Trustee and conscience of the Fund,” providing critical checks to ensure contributors’ resources are prudently managed. “Weakening or replacing this Board with a politically dominated structure would erode the Fund’s autonomy, open the door to mismanagement, and ultimately jeopardise the benefits and security of millions of Nigerian workers,” it said.

The OPSN also dismissed claims of overlapping agencies managing the NSITF, insisting that “the NSITF is the sole statutory body responsible for implementing the Employees’ Compensation Act (ECA). Any attempt to create parallel structures would contravene international standards and invite confusion and mismanagement.”

The group vowed to resist any attempt to weaken the Fund’s governance framework, warning that it was prepared to “employ all legitimate and legal means, including recourse to international labour standards and the ILO’s supervisory mechanisms,” to protect the NSITF’s integrity.

Expressing frustration with legislative priorities, OPSN faulted the Senate for focusing on “an unnecessary and potentially damaging amendment” while neglecting the long-overdue Nigeria Labour Law Bill, which it said is “critical for the future of work in Nigeria.”

“It is regrettable that, despite broad stakeholder consensus, the Nigeria Labour Law Bill remains stalled,” the group lamented. “Instead, attention is being diverted to an amendment that risks undermining a key national social protection institution.”

The OPSN therefore urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Senate President Godswill Akpabio to intervene and halt what it described as “a charade” by the Senate Committee on Labour and Employment.

“The NSITF must not be politicised or weakened,” OPSN declared. “Its governance must remain rooted in tripartism, transparency, and accountability as enshrined in ILO Conventions and international best practices.”

The organisation reaffirmed its readiness to collaborate with government and labour to strengthen — not undermine — the institutions that protect Nigerian workers. “The future of Nigeria’s social protection and industrial peace depends on upholding these principles and resisting any attempt to compromise the integrity of the NSITF,” the OPSN concluded.