Enforcement central to ECS implementation – NSITF boss

Stories by Moses John
Abuja

Acting Managing Director of Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), Ismail Agaka, has hinted that the organisation was concentrating in the area of enforcement because it is key to the implementation of the Employees Compensation Scheme.
Agaka who stated this recently at the enforcement officers’ training programme in Lagos, said the management has identified capacity building as a remedy for low productivity and has embarked on an aggressive training programme to bridge the gap.
The acting MD disclosed that the term ‘enforcement’ signified use of force such that are employed by the law enforcement agencies, adding that the term ‘compliance’ would have been more appropriate within the job description of the department.
The NSITF boss further stated that an Act of Parliament backs the Employees’ Compensation Scheme (ECS) and urged every employer of labour in Nigeria to willingly subscribe to it.

According to him, “ECS is new in the country and there is a need for officers of the Fund to persuade employers to comply with the scheme in order for their employees to benefit from the many advantages as enunciated in the Act.”
He noted that the law is only invoked against a recalcitrant employer when every effort to persuade such employer fails.
On the training exercise, Agaka assured that training of staffers would be continuous exercise.
Speaking also, General Manager, Administration, Human Resources and Maintenance, Olusegun Basorun, challenged the enforcement officers to go the extra mile to stand out in their professional duties.
“Consider the degree that earned you this employment obsolete, ensure you upgrade yourselves from time to time and leverage opportunities such as this, so as to be up to date with world’s best practices while making sure you embrace integrity and hard work,” he said.

On her own part, the General Manager Lagos Region, Mrs Funke Aleshinloye, said the Fund places high premium on enforcement officers’ training and increasing their capacity in order to deliver on their mandate of ensuring employers comply to the requirements of the scheme.
She said: “It is one thing to have a great product, it is another thing to be able to convincingly present the product to those who are in need of it. Clearly, private businesses stand to benefit from the ECS; otherwise they might not be able to meet up with their obligations if their employees sustain injuries or die in the course of work.
“ECS has already been designed to take care of that, but we must show the employers how attractive the package is.”