NSITF restrategises to scale up ECS implementation

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The two-day regional management performance review of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), which ended at the weekend, has seen the fund fashioning new strategies for the optimum implementation of the Employee Compensation Scheme (ECS).

A statement by the fund’s General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Nwachukwu Godson, said the event paired the 12 regions of the agency at six centres of Kano, Owerri, Keffi, Ibadan, Port Harcourt and Bauchi.

It noted that the event was an interactive window for the regional and branch management to review scorecards under four key performance indices of collections, claims processed and paid, debts recovered as well as expenditures against collections in comparison to the previous year.

The statement read that in an address to the participants, the Managing Director of the NSITF, Maureen Allagoa, said the fund is focused on new strategies to optimise its delivery of the employee compensation as a crucial vehicle in the Federal Government’s commitment to workers’ welfare.

Allagoa said, “As we are gathered here, we are to review critical success factors, the challenges we confront daily in the discharge of our responsibilities as well as set plans to offset cumulative variance in our operations.

“Our mission is not just to criticise and demoralise the regions and branches over their performances but to also hear first-hand their challenges while proffering solutions to them. That’s part of the reasons the executive directors are also on supervision in other centres.

“Therefore, the regional and the branch managers whose regions or branches are not performing well need to sit down and strategise more on improving productivity. There is a need for a smart business approach, where each region or branch must be encouraged not only to be able to pay its bills but do more.

“On our part, we are institutionalising a reward system to ensure that every individual and collective efforts towards better compliance is rewarded.

“We have further enhanced compliance capabilities by providing buses for the branches. The first set of 10 has been distributed and another set will soon be procured. The goal is to ensure that every branch will have a bus for compliance operations.

“We are also making efforts on our part as management through executive advocacy visits to top employers of labour, particularly in the public sector. This has led to the recent breakthrough in the release of a circular directing all MDAs to comply immediately with the one percent deduction of the ECS contribution by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.”

“Management is open, willing and ready to assist you in any way needed to improve your contributions, including visiting top government officials at your level to key into the scheme.”

The statement noted that the fund’s Executive Director, Operations, Modu Gana, exhorted management and staff to use the opportunity “to reflect on our collective achievements, set new benchmarks and chart our course towards greater success. The relentless dedication, hard work and the passion you bring to the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) form the cornerstone of our progress and prosperity.

“I urge each one of you to actively participate in the review, share your insights and engage in open and constructive discussions. Your contributions are invaluable in shaping the future of NSITF and reinforcing our mission.”

It also said the Executive Director, Administration, Professor Gabriel Okenwa, charged all to unite to build a resilient and resourceful workforce, assuring that necessary work tools would be provided for optimum output.

He further called for regular peer review at branch level to ensure adequate ventilation and speedy resolution of issues.

The Executive Director, Finance, Adegoke Adedeji, informed the gathering that the fund was dialoguing with the Federal Ministry of Finance for the inclusion of compulsory one percent deduction of ECS as approved by the Federal Government in the 2023 budget, while urging staff to break new grounds in registering new employers in the private sector.

The statement added that some of the issues the MPR tackled at different centres include the delay in issuance of compliance certificates, actualising the informal sector enforcement project, standard procedure on debt recovery, harnessing the opportunity offered by the approval of one percent deduction from MDAs emoluments, establishment of service delivery centres and proposed standard registration fee.

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