NSITF covers 7.8m workers as claims turnaround drops to 10 days

By Chesa Chesa

The Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) says more than 7.8 million workers are now covered under its Employees’ Compensation Scheme, while average claims processing time has dropped from 14 days to 10 days, as the Fund moves to make social protection a practical reality for Nigerian workers.

The NSITF Managing Director/Chief Executive, Oluwaseun Faleye, disclosed this on Thursday at the 2026 National Pre-Retirement Summit in Abuja, where he argued that retirement security must be built during a worker’s active years rather than at the point of retirement.

The summit, held at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, had the theme, “Own Your Retirement: From Planning to Action,” while the policy dialogue session addressed “Between Duty and Delivery.”

Faleye said the focus of social protection should go beyond what citizens are promised by law to what they actually experience when they become vulnerable.

“When we speak about retirement, we must begin much earlier than the point at which work ends. Retirement security is shaped during working life — by occupational risks, health, protection of earning capacity, compensation when harm occurs, and what happens to families when a breadwinner is lost,” he said.

According to him, pensions and personal savings, although indispensable, do not provide the entire social protection framework required for a secure retirement.

He said a worker who remains healthy, productive and protected during working life has a different pathway into old age from one who suffers a disabling injury or loses a breadwinner without adequate protection.

Faleye said the Employees’ Compensation Scheme, administered by NSITF, was an important component of that protection framework, covering employment-related injury, occupational disease, disability and death.

The scheme, he added, provides compensation, survivor benefits, medical care, rehabilitation and return-to-work support.

On the Fund’s coverage, Faleye said more than 7.6 million workers were enrolled as of July 2026, with the figure subsequently rising to over 7.8 million.

He said NSITF was moving away from one-off registration exercises towards sustained participation and compliance through partnerships with federal institutions, state governments, regulators, employers and organisations in the informal economy.

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