Business
Our Success not measured by Claims and Compensations alone – NSITF
… Kano set to key in.
The Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund has explained that the payment of claims and compensations does not alone measure the success of the organization, as the prevention of accidents is the first process in Employees’ Compensation.
Adegoke Adedeji , Executive Director, Finance and Investment NSITF
“ The prevention of accidents through robust occupational safety and health(OSH) programmes is the first step in the processes of the Employees’ Compensation. The payment of claims and compensations is therefore inversely proportional to this.
The Fund offered the explanation through its Executive Director, Finance and Investment, Adegoke Adediji , while receiving members of the Nigeria Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB) on behalf of the Managing Director of the NSITF, Maureen Allagoa Esq.
Adedeji who cleared the air over a recent misconception about the mandate of the NSITF in a section of the press, said, the successes of the Fund cannot alone be measured by the amount paid as claims and compensations because effective OSH programmes slow down workplace accidents.
Adegoke Adedeji , Executive Director, Finance and Investment NSITF
“Measuring the progress of the NSITF by the number of claims and compensations paid is a very poor grasp of our mandate and operations. By ECA 2010, occupational safety and health is in inverse proportion to claims and compensations. When the occupational safety and health programmes (OSH) are top notch and producing results, the rate of workplace accidents that trigger claims and compensations declines. When OSH is not active, the reverse becomes the case.
“A well-managed NSITF primarily seeks the reduction of workplace accidents. This is the first step our management takes through a robust pursuit of occupational safety and health programmes. But if accident occurs, we follow up with rehabilitation. Then payment of claims and compensations, where necessary.
“And the NSITF has been discharging all obligations on the payment of compensations to employees and their dependents for death, injury, disability arising out of or in the course of employment. We rehabilitate those who suffer workplace disabilities.
“In fact, we have a case in hand where we’ve paid close to 70 million at N1.3 million every month and another where the Fund pays about 1.5 million every month and will continue paying till the last child is 21 years of age.
“But while we do this, we intensify accident prevention programmes, even collaborating with other agencies and relevant stakeholders to emplace occupational safety and health(OSH) standards in all workplaces enrolled with the Fund. This is the charge of our active OSH department in our 57 branches and 12 regions across the country.”
Adedeji also affirmed that the current management has a clear road map for the future of the Fund, stating that the NSITF is changing with the times in terms of rules and operations. He, however, insisted that the Fund’s tripartite stakeholders are involved in all major administrative decisions, including the recent introduction of fees for fresh registration and for compliance certificates.
He further assured the Council of Registered Insurance Brokers that the NSITF would consider its request for collaboration, adding that both organisations have similar roles in the world of work.
Earlier in his presentation, the President of the NCRIB, Babatunde Ogunlade, commended the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund(NSITF) for expanding the reach of social security services in the country.
While stating that the visit was to seek areas of partnership and collaboration between the NSITF and a vibrant community of registered insurance brokers across the federation, Ogunlade said the two organizations have a common goal of securing the social security and well-being of all Nigerians.
He said, “We must mention that the NSITF has done very well. Your operations are getting noticed, and people are beginning to see the need to comply with you and understand the essence of the Employees’ compensation in the life of workers.”
“What we bring on board is collaboration. We are far reaching. We have over 600 corporate bodies. We have over 15,000 members. We can collaborate and bring more companies, more money. But you propose a certain percentage we can earn by helping to do the work.
“We can bring in an aggregate of 30 to 50,000 small corporates, they don’t have to be limited, everybody suffers the risk of disability once you have an employee, even if it is two-member employee.
“More SMEs are coming up. The large corporates are things of the past, they will continue to dwindle, except in government agencies. The small corporates are coming up. We will collaborate in this area. Bring brokers on board, and we help you straighten the rough edges and bring in more SMEs into the net.”
Also on hand to receive the visitors were the NSITF’s heads of departments, including the General Manager, General Administration and Services, Jonah Nedemaya, who himself has a vast knowledge of the insurance industry.
Meanwhile, the Kano State Government has declared that its zeal and commitment to the welfare of the Kano workforce and citizenry have similar intendments with the Employees’ Compensation Scheme of the NSITF.
The Kano State Head of Civil Service, Alhaji Abdullahi Musa, made the declaration while receiving an advocacy team from the Kano Branch of the NSITF led by Haruna Mohammed. Noting that the ECS would further strengthen a range of social security benefits which Kano extends to her people, Musa assured that the state would key into the scheme as well as make the ECS compliance certificate mandatory for contract bidders.
The Head of Service who received the NSITF team in the company of his Permanent Secretary Establishment, Mohammed Jalo, Permanent Secretary, Salaries and Wages, Ibrahim Boyi and Director Administration and General Services, Umma Dallat further requested a detailed proposition to enable the state government to take a position at the earliest date. Among the NSITF team to the Kano State Secretariat were Idi Audu, Ahmed Suka and Abudrahman Tafida.
Business
OPSN Applauds President Tinubu for FRC tax halt
The OPSN urges continued engagement between regulatory institutions and the private sector to co-create regulatory policies that drive economic growth without stifling entrepreneurship.
The OPSN and its stakeholders have been in active dialogue with the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, and other critical agencies, advocating for business-friendly policies that foster enterprise growth, protect jobs, and enhance national productivity.
The Organised Private Sector Nigeria (OPSN) comprising NACCIMA, MAN, NECA, NASSI and NASME commends President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for having suspended the implementation of certain provisions of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) Act 2023, which imposed financial caps and additional compliance dues on private companies.
Engr Jani Ibrahim, the National President of NACCIMA/Chairman OPSN, expressed gratitude on behalf of the private sector business, in a statement on Thursday.
The statement reads:” This action comes as a timely relief to the organised private sector members, including the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), many of whom had expressed deep concerns about the financial and administrative burden posed by the mandatory levies and reporting obligations under the current FRC framework.
The OPSN and its stakeholders have been in active dialogue with the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, and other critical agencies, advocating for business-friendly policies that foster enterprise growth, protect jobs, and enhance national productivity.
We therefore commend the efforts of the Government for this timely decision, which is a proactive and responsive measure that supports the Federal Government’s commitment to improving the ease of doing business and sustaining investor confidence.
The suspension provides a critical window for stakeholders to revisit the framework and ensure that future implementations of financial reporting obligations are transparent, equitable, and sensitive to the realities and legitimate concerns of Nigerian businesses.
The OPSN urges continued engagement between regulatory institutions and the private sector to co-create regulatory policies that drive economic growth without stifling entrepreneurship.
We remain committed to constructive dialogue and collaboration that will advance Nigeria’s economic transformation agenda.”
Business
Dangote Cement Creates 50 Agric Entrepreneurs
The beneficiaries were selected from the company’s host communities of Gboko Local Government Area of Benue State.
Determined to support the government in its food security efforts, Dangote Cement Plc has launched a Farmers Empowerment Programme in Benue State.
The initiative is aimed at enabling 50 farmers to produce subsistence and cash crops in commercial quantities from Benue State, considered to be the food basket of the nation.
The programme is coming barely two months after the company empowered businesswomen in Gboko host communities of the State with cash grants, thus deepening business activities in the State.
Earlier, the company had increased bursary payments to students of host communities by more than 100 percent.
Speaking Thursday at the launch of the Farmers Empowerment Programme, General Manager Social Performance, Johnson Kor, described the programme as ‘historic and innovative.’
He said that the beneficiaries were selected from the company’s host communities of Gboko Local Government Area of Benue State.
According to him, the beneficiaries were carefully selected from the six catchment areas of the Local Government.
Mr. Kor said the projects have been earmarked for the communities as captured in the extant Community Development Agreement (CDA), adding that the contents of the CDA are progressively being executed. “Today we are witnessing an historic occasion in our journey of mutual development.
Farmers Empowerment Programme is the first programme to be launched since we signed the CDA with the immediate host communities in December 2024,” he said.
In his speech, Plant Director, Dangote Cement, Gboko Plant, Munusamy Murugan, said the company will also support farmers with fertilizers, Agro chemicals, Knapsack Sprayers and various types of seedlings. Mr. Murugan who was represented by Head of Production Department, Engr Soom Kiishi said: “This is the first batch but certainly just the beginning, and certainly not the end.
We plan it to be an annual event, but the choice of the Farmers programme may change, depending on the choice of the benefiting communities.”
He said that other economic empowerment programmes are lined up in the coming weeks.
“The Youth Empowerment Programme will soon be launched, and selected beneficiaries will receive training in Welding & Fabrication, and Solar Electrical Installation from Professional personnels,” he added.
He said the company’s scholarship scheme cuts across students from various disciplines and tertiary institutions.
In his address to the communities, a Consultant from Abbass Corporate Services, Dr. Ahemen Aondoaver Samuel, advised the beneficiaries to make use of what he described as a rare opportunity from the Dangote Cement Plc.
The Consultant said that the company’s effort will help transform beneficiaries into entrepreneurs in the agricultural sector and enable them to support the government’s food security effort.
A member of the community, Kwaghgba Isaac, described the Farmers Empowerment Programme as a historic and huge intervention from the company, noting that the effort will not only boost subsistence farming, but help feed the nation.
He urged members of the communities to sustain the peaceful coexistence currently being enjoyed with the company.
Business
Nigeria’s economy grows 3.7% in H1- Stanbic IBTC report
Muyiwa Oni, Head of Equity Research, West Africa at Stanbic IBTC Bank, said that the estimated 3.7 percent year-on-year GDP growth aligns with expectations for annual growth of 3.5 percent.
• President Bola Tinubu
The Nigerian economy grew by 3.7 percent in the first half of 2025, driven by improved business conditions and increased oil production.
This was revealed in the Stanbic IBTC Bank Nigeria Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) report compiled by S&P Global and released on Tuesday.
Earlier, the World Bank estimated that Nigeria’s economy would grow by 3.6 percent in 2025, higher than the 3.4 percent recorded in 2024, despite shifts in global trade dynamics.
This projection is lower than the Central Bank of Nigeria’s estimate of 4.17 percent and the ambitious 5.5 percent GDP growth forecasted by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group in January.
Muyiwa Oni, Head of Equity Research, West Africa at Stanbic IBTC Bank, said that the estimated 3.7 percent year-on-year GDP growth aligns with expectations for annual growth of 3.5 percent.
He said, “Insights from the monthly PMIs and crude oil production data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission suggest an economy that grew by an estimated 3.7 per cent y/y in H1 2025, supported by higher crude oil production and improved growth in manufacturing and services, while agriculture continues to lag its long-term average growth rate of 3.6 per cent.”
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