Economic Hardship: NSITF develops package on poverty alleviation

The Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), weekend said that it is extending its operations into other areas of the ILO Convention 102 as a sure way to key into the Eight-Point Agenda of the Tinubu administration on social security, economic empowerment and poverty reduction.

In an exclusive interview in Abuja, the Managing Director of the NSITF, Barrister Maureen Allagoa said that in addition to the current coverage of employment injury and invalidity benefits of the Employee Compensation Scheme 2010, the fund has further developed a support package to aid the comprehensive poverty alleviation agenda of the Federal Government.

She said, “We undoubtedly have a major role to play in the fulfilment of the 8-point agenda, particularly with the Federal Government’s determined effort to end poverty which aligns with our cardinal charge of social and economic empowerment targeted at poverty alleviation.

“There are other areas of the ILO Convention 102 such as old age benefits, unemployment benefits, and family benefits among others which are integral to our social security mandate. We are exploring ways to bring them on board to broaden the space of benefits and categories of beneficiaries of the ECS.”

According to her, the Fund can seamlessly assist in the generation of social security data as well as in storing and sharing them with other relevant agencies of government and equally assist in the coordination of the social intervention programs of the administration.

On the going fact-finding committee set up by the Minister of Labour and Employment to look into the challenges in the Fund, Allegra said she has appeared before the Committee and made submissions, noting she was the wrong person to speak on the matter.

She said, “The committee or the officials of the Ministry of Labour are the appropriate persons to ask this question anyway. But on my part, I was invited once and I promptly appeared before the committee.

“I made submissions before the committee because I have nothing to fear or hide. I know detractors within are fabricating all manner of lies about the current management of the Fund, but the truth is coming to light before the committee.

“Staff members who were invited have been taking their turns before the committee and have been making stunning revelations on the high-level indiscipline and infractions by a member of staff.

“The staff know themselves, they know the truth and they know who among them is an alleged ‘super staff’ who is neck deep in all infractions, with fingers in all pies in the fund since 2020. God will continue to put them to shame as the outcome will vindicate the just.”

On the alleged influence of the immediate past Minister, she said:
“There was a Minister but there is now a Minister. All of us in the Exco were appointed by the last administration. But that administration is gone and gone for good. And that is it. NSITF is an institution that lives beyond any set of elected and appointed officials.

“Our unalloyed loyalty is to the current government of President Tinubu and our supervising Minister, His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Simon Lalong and to the workers whom the ECS mandated us to serve. Any other insinuation to the contrary is at best preposterous, a beer parlour chat that deserves no response.

“My Exco has its eyes fixed on the delivery of the mandate of this administration on social security and won’t be distracted by mischief makers whom God is already exposing.”