Organised Private Sector Opposes Move to Amend NSITF Act
Urges Senate to Focus on Passing Labour Law Bill
The Organised Private Sector of Nigeria (OPSN) and about 25 employers’ federations have vehemently opposed the proposed amendment to the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) Act, warning that the move could undermine the Fund’s governance framework, erode transparency, and expose it to undue political interference.
Despite the bill having already passed its second reading in the Senate, the OPSN vowed to resist the amendment through all legitimate and legal means, including recourse to international labour standards and the supervisory mechanisms of the International Labour Organisation (ILO). The group maintained that it would protect the NSITF from any action that threatens its sustainability, efficiency, or alignment with global best practices.
In a joint letter addressed to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and signed by the Directors-General of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), the Nigeria Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), the Nigeria Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME), and the Nigeria Association of Small Scale Industrialists (NASSI), along with 25 other employers’ federations, the OPSN reiterated its opposition to any amendment that weakens the Fund’s governance structure.
According to the letter, any legislative alteration that reduces the participation of organised labour and employers—the primary contributors to the Fund—in its management would be unacceptable.
The proposed amendment, sponsored by the Senate Committee on Labour and Employment led by Senator Diket Plang, seeks to adjust the composition and control of the NSITF’s governing board. However, the OPSN expressed concern that the changes would diminish the representation and influence of employers and workers, while expanding government control through political appointments.
Citing ILO Recommendation 202 on Social Protection Floors, the OPSN stressed the importance of participatory, transparent, and accountable governance in social protection systems, warning against the dangers of politicisation and exclusion of key stakeholders.
The group reminded lawmakers that the NSITF was established on a tripartite structure representing government, employers, and labour—consistent with ILO Convention 102 (Social Security – Minimum Standards), Convention 144 (Tripartite Consultation), and Convention 87 (Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise). These conventions, which Nigeria has ratified, require that social security institutions be administered with the full participation of social partners to safeguard contributors’ and beneficiaries’ interests.
The OPSN therefore called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Senate President Godswill Akpabio to urgently intervene and halt what it described as a “charade” by the Senate Committee on Labour and Employment.
Instead of pursuing the NSITF amendment, the OPSN urged the Senate to focus on completing and passing the long-awaited Nigeria Labour Law Bill, describing it as a more pressing and productive legislative priority that would strengthen industrial harmony and labour relations across the country.
