By Chesa Chesa
The Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) on Tuesday marked a major milestone in the implementation of the Employees’ Compensation Scheme (ECS) by presenting its first compensation cheques worth N31.72 million to five beneficiaries from treasury-funded Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), 15 years after the Employees’ Compensation Act (ECA) was enacted.
The presentation ceremony, held in Abuja, brought together families of federal workers who either lost their lives or sustained work-related injuries in the course of public service, signalling what the Fund described as the beginning of full implementation of the compensation scheme for federal civil servants.
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NSITF, Oluwaseun Faleye, described the event as the fulfilment of a long-standing legal obligation rather than a ceremonial exercise.
“We are not here for a ceremony. We are here to keep a promise,” Faleye said. “What began as a system on paper has today become a cheque in someone’s hand. That is the distance between policy and people, and today we closed it.”
He noted that although the Employees’ Compensation Act of 2010 guarantees compensation to workers who suffer occupational injuries, diseases or death in the course of employment, federal civil servants had, until recently, been unable to fully access the benefits.
According to him, the breakthrough followed the onboarding of federal workers into the Employees’ Compensation Scheme and the establishment of an ECS Help Desk at the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation in April this year to simplify claims processing and improve access to benefits.
Faleye commended the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Didi Esther Walson-Jack, for championing compliance across the federal service.
“What we are witnessing today does not happen without leadership willing to make compliance a culture rather than a memo,” he said, adding that her office ensured civil servants were no longer “an afterthought in their own government’s welfare architecture.”
Addressing the beneficiaries, the NSITF boss acknowledged that financial compensation could never replace the lives lost but said it represented official recognition of their sacrifices.
“I will not stand here and tell you that any amount on any cheque undoes what your family has been through. It does not. What this cheque says is that you were not forgotten. Your loss was seen. Your sacrifice was recorded, not just in a file, but in the conscience of this nation,” he said.
Faleye assured beneficiaries that NSITF would continue to improve claims processing while strengthening occupational health and safety measures to reduce workplace accidents. He also urged all MDAs yet to enrol their workers under the scheme to do so without delay, warning that employees remained vulnerable without adequate coverage.
The five beneficiaries were Jae Grace Danture of the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation (N3.82 million), Uzochukwu Aguomba of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment (N10.4 million), Olofu Pius Agri of the University of Abuja (N3.17 million), Patience Oyekunle Nwankwo of the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (N2.45 million) and Audu Sanda Eyum of the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD), who received N11.88 million.
In her remarks, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Walson-Jack, commended the NSITF management for translating government’s commitment into practical support for workers and their families.
She stressed that the compensation payments were lawful entitlements under the Employees’ Compensation Act and not acts of charity, noting that their implementation under the current administration demonstrated President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to workers’ welfare and the Renewed Hope Agenda.
Walson-Jack recalled that the Office of the Head of the Civil Service and NSITF had earlier signed a Memorandum of Understanding and inaugurated the Employees’ Compensation Scheme Help Desk to facilitate access to information, incident reporting and claims processing, adding that Tuesday’s presentation showed the partnership was already yielding results.
Also speaking, Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Dr Kamil Ayinde Shoretire, described the Employees’ Compensation Scheme as a critical social protection mechanism designed to improve workplace safety and guarantee support for workers affected by occupational injuries and diseases.
He said the presentation reflected the Tinubu administration’s commitment to enhancing workers’ productivity and strengthening social security, expressing confidence that the NSITF would continue to expand access to compensation benefits.
Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, Sandra Audu of PTAD praised the professionalism displayed by NSITF officials throughout the verification process, saying the seamless handling of her claim demonstrated the Fund’s commitment to delivering quality service despite her medical challenges. She described the compensation as another tangible benefit of the Renewed Hope Agenda.
