The federal government has given the management of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund(NSITF) January 2022 ultimatum to re-adjust the agency’s salary structure of the fund.
It similarly gave the agency three months to fully automate its operations.
Minister of Labour and Employment Senator Chris Ngige announced this Saturday at the closing ceremony of its two-day Management Performance Review at the NAF Conference Centre Abuja.
The minister said this in a statement the ministry’s deputy director press, Charles Akpan.
He said the conduct of the new team had justified the decision of President Muhammadu Buhari to relieve the immediate past management team of their responsibilities.
“The Chairman of the Board of the NSITF , Austin Isere, a chartered accountant, chartered banker and chartered insurer is an Urhoboh from Delta State. I didn’t know him . The man who brought him to me is a Yoruba man, Fola Danniel and President was pleased with his pedigree. This is the kind of Nigerian we want . When people are qualified, you give them their due.
“The best Director of Finance I have worked with in my Ministry is Ishaya Awotu from Nasarawa State. I have worked with others, even from my tribe. But Ishaya is brilliant and competent, that I keep recommending him till today for any finance and accounting jobs without blinking.
“When you hear any story, oh, Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba, don’t bandy it around me. I look for an excellent person and that’s how I operate. A lot of people hide under tribalism to cover up weaknesses and inefficiency. We can’t build Nigeria with such predilection.
“The more target you meet in terms of returns, generation of contributions, the more the incentive. When you exceed your target, there must be a way of saying thank you. You must live down the NSITF of old and brace up for the new NSITF, where there will be special promotions for outstanding performance. There will also be a review of condition of service,” the statement quoted the minister as saying.
He further directed that the Management Performance Review be made more frequent, every month, especially for those in operations, using virtual platforms, to bridge the gap in communication between the branches, zones and the headquarters, so as to properly ventilate every issue and carry along, all levels before decisions are taken.
The minister re-stated that every contract must be in line with the Procurement Act and must be done based on NEEDS assessment , vowing that the era of procurement just for sake of it was over.
“When you visit some branches, you find items of furniture, some new, dumped all over the place. They were procured for sake of buying them and not based on the needs of the branches. This must stop,” Ngige said.
He again charged the legal department to pick up the challenge and charge recalcitrant employers to court, directing that legal department be established in every branch. He said additional recruitment of lawyers and accountants was done to firm up operations and there should be no excuses hence.
“How many persons have you taken to court? We are amending the law so that the penalty will be stiff. But you must take people to court even if the fine is N10, 000. The law says N10,000 or six months imprisonment or both. A magistrate or judge might not give you N10, 000 only , he might give you both or even give you six months only . And once you are given six months and you come out, you become an ex-convict. If it is a company, it will be blacklisted. So, nobody should say the law is loose and hide under it not to perform.”
Ngige further called for the re-enforcement of the Informal Sector Department of the agency, saying the informal economy is one whole opportunity waiting to be tapped for the social security benefits of all.
The review , a quarterly event, which was the first since the new management took office last year, had in attendance all branch and regional managers as well as other senior and executive management of the agency.
