Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja
The Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund has assured stakeholders that the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) that the dependents of their two staff members who lately lost their lives in the course of work, can benefit from the Employees’ Compensation.
It said that the two personnel of the Service were qualified for the benefit having registered with the scheme, and being an agency of government.
A statement by the General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Nwachukwu Godson said the Managing Director of the NSITF, Maureen Allagoa, made the clarification in Abuja yesterday when her team met with the Acting Comptroller General, Wura-Ola Adepoju during a sensitisation drive to the headquarters of the NIS.
When asked if the two staff of the Service who died recently in a fatal motor accident in the course of assignment can be covered by the ECS .
Allagoa, who answered in the affirmative, said that the recent circular from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the federation on mandatory ECS contributions is binding on all Ministries, Departments and Agencies, noting that the backlog of payment to be made by the MDAs as contained in the circular dates back to 2012.
According to her, under the Employees’ Compensation Scheme, the family of any enrollee who dies in the course of work will be taken care of by the NSITF until the last child attains the age of 21 or graduated from the university and on the condition that that beneficiary is totally dependent on the deceased.
She said: “If an agency of government like the Immigration Service which is registered has a staff with work-related injury or death, the NSITF can pay claims to the worker or the dependents as the case may be, in as much as the accident is properly reported under twenty-one days, documented and contributions commenced. Remember that the backlog owed by the MDAs dating to 2012 are meant to be cleared in line with the Federal Government Circular.
“So in the case of the two staff of the Immigration Service who died in the course of work, the NSITF will pay claims to their dependents once the Service takes the steps mentioned above by properly registering the incident and making the appropriate one percent contribution.”
Meanwhile, the Sokoto State Government is set to enroll its workforce into the Employee Compensation Scheme.
The State Head of Service, Suleiman Sarkin Fulani Ahmadu, gave the assurance while receiving a team from the Sokoto Branch of the NSITF led by its Manager, Ashiru Muhammad Alkali.
Addressing the NSITF delegation, Suleiman thanked them for the visit which he described as timely, and assured that the current Sokoto State Government was committed to the welfare of workers as part of the reforms of the state civil service.
He further said that the State Government was ready to partner the NSITF towards the improvement of the lots of the workers, hence the need to embrace the Employees’ Compensation Act.
Earlier, the Sokoto Branch Manager of the Fund, Ashiru Muhammad Alkali, said they were at the office of the newly appointed Sokoto State Head of Civil Service to intimate him of the ECS as well as congratulate him on his well-deserved appointment. He expressed confidence that the scheme will make immense contributions in reforming the state civil service .
