The Managing Director of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), Barrister Olúwaṣeun Mayomi Faleye has said economic activities and growth are anchored in the protection, responsibility, and respect for the Nigeria worker.
Barrister Faleye stated this while addressing a press conference to flag off the 2025 Safe Workplace Intervention Project, (SWIP).
The project, a collaboration between the NSITF and the Nigeria Employers' Consultative Assembly, (NECA), was scheduled for the year 2025. The MD said however, that "operational exigencies on both sides made it necessary to reconvene in January, 2026."
Delving into the purpose of the project, the NSITF boss said, "SWIP was never conceived as an annual ceremony. It was
conceived as a practical response to a persistent national
challenge: the reality that too many Nigerian workers remain
exposed to avoidable workplace risks, and too many employers
still do not fully understand, or comply with, the protections
provided under the Employees’ Compensation Act, 2010."
"The core purpose of SWIP is simple but profound:
To save lives, protect livelihoods, and strengthen productivity by
making workplace safety and compliance the norm rather than
the exception." He added.
Justifying the NSITF-NECA project, Faleye submitted that, "Experience has shown us that laws alone do not change
behaviour. The Employees’ Compensation Act is robust, but its
effectiveness depends on awareness, trust, and consistent
engagement. Many workplace injuries and fatalities occur not
out of malice, but because safety systems are weak, risks are
poorly understood, or compliance is viewed narrowly as a
regulatory burden."
He explained that "SWIP was designed to close this gap,"
bringing "the law to life by translating statutory provisions into
practical understanding; it connects employers to the real
business value of compliance; and it reinforces the idea that
workplace safety is not an abstract obligation, but a human,
economic, and productivity imperative."
Barrister Faleye called on the media to help escalate workplace safety to national priority.
"The role of the media in this effort cannot be overstated. By
telling these stories, highlighting best practices, and sustaining
public conversation, you help reposition workplace safety from
a peripheral issue to a national priority."
The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Dr. Sally Ousmane, in an address at the press conference delivered on his behalf by the Director Regional Health and Safety, Mrs. Ovie Florence, commended NSITF and NECA on behalf of the Honourable Minister and the Management of the Federal Ministry of
Labour and Employment, "for sustaining this laudable
initiative, which continues to make meaningful contributions to the strengthening of
Nigerian occupational safety and health."
He opined that, "The Safe Workplace Intervention Project is a
clear demonstration of what can be achieved through effective collaboration between
governments, employers, and the social security institutions. I am particularly pleased
that the audit components of this year's project covered no fewer than 200 workplaces
in all six geopolitical zones of the country, with the active technical participation of the
Ministry's Occupational Safety and Health Department.
The Ministry's involvement as the audit technical and implementation partner was
aimed at ensuring that the process was conducted in line with national occupational
health and safety standards and global best practises. I am encouraged by the report of
high level of enthusiasm."
In his own speech at the occasion, the Director-General National Employers Consultative Assembly, NECA, Mr. Nneka said Occupation Safety and Health "are now core conventions of the International Labour Organization, (ILO.) since two years ago.
The DG explained that the goal of the SWIP awards was "to enhance voluntary compliance." He revealed that some winning organisations "will be presented ambulances and personal protective equipment in Lagos, Enugu, and Abuja.
On the integrity of the selection process, Mr. Nneka said the process endured rigorous multi-levels auditing and vetting.
Looking ahead, he stated that focus of occupational health and safety would now shift to peculiar problems presented by AI, working at home and other technological innovations.
In a call-to-action address at the event, the Executive Director Operations, NSITF, Hon. Mojisolaoluwa Ali-Macauley said, "The joint assessment by the Federal Ministry of Labour and NSITF
confirms what we have always known: Safe workplaces are not
aspirational – they are achievable when leadership, regulation, and
responsibility work together, exactly as intended by the Employees’
Compensation Act, 2010."
She therefore, called on all employers to institutionalise preventive safety measures urgently. She also enjoined awardee organisations to see the awards as beginning not the end as she urged NECA to "intensify advocacy and employers mobilisation."
She further called on
"the Federal Ministry of Labour, NSITF, and all regulatory bodies" to "sustain and deepen our collaboration: more evidence-based
inspections, faster interventions, stronger enforcement."
Lastly, Mrs. Ali-Macauley urged "the media and the Nigerian public" to "keep occupational safety
and health in the spotlight. Safe work is everyone’s responsibility and
a foundation for national productivity and economic stability."
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