Onome Amuge
The fierce opposition mounted this week by the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) and Organized Labour against the proposed amendments to the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) Act has opened a fresh chapter in the long-running debate about the future of Nigeria’s social security architecture. But beyond the sharp rebuke delivered at the Senate public hearing, the development reflects a widening trust deficit between policymakers and the key constituencies responsible for implementing social protection reforms.
The controversy is not merely the content of the Bill, but the process leading to it. For NECA and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Senate’s attempt to alter the governance, financial structure, and management framework of the NSITF without Tripartite consultation signals a tilt toward unilateralism in policy formulation in a sector that, by global convention, is built on shared responsibility.
During the public hearing on December 1, leaders of Organized Labour and NECA declared unequivocally that the proposed changes would not enhance the Fund as claimed. Rather, they warned, the Bill could open the NSITF to legal and administrative instability, weaken governance checks, and concentrate operational control in a manner they described as dangerous for a contributory social insurance system.
NECA, however, insists that reforms cannot be divorced from internationally accepted labour governance models. Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, the NECA director-general warned that any legislative amendment that dilutes Tripartite representation, comprising government, employers, and workers, would put Nigeria at odds with International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions and undermine stakeholder confidence.
Labour’s resistance also reflects concerns about financial risk. Under the proposed amendments, greater fiscal authority would reportedly shift to a single office, raising fears of unchecked discretion over billions in employer and employee contributions.
Both NECA and Labour are pushing for the withdrawal of the Bill and the inauguration of a Tripartite review of the NSITF/Employees’ Compensation Act (ECA). They argue that such a review should feed into a new, comprehensive social security law capable of addressing Nigeria’s welfare gaps, including pensions, unemployment benefits, disability support, and social protection for the informal sector.
According to Oyerinde, weakening tripartite representation and governance, and concentrating financial responsibility in a single office, is a recipe for chaos in the social insurance ecosystem.
He further emphasised that while NECA supports reforms aimed at improving efficiency and governance, such reforms must not erode institutional integrity or compromise stakeholder involvement.
The NECA DG noted further: “ We are not opposed to reforms. However, any reform must strengthen institutions, enhance transparency, promote good and ethical governance, and ensure the long-term sustainability of the Fund. We therefore once again urge the Senate to withdraw this Bill and subject it to proper Tripartite consultation. We also urge that as a matter of fundamental importance, the National Assembly should allow the Tripartite do a Consultative review of the NSITF/ECA Act, while a new Bill focused on a holistic social security system for the nation be enacted by the National Assembly”.
