The Nigerian government has reportedly met two key demands of the Nigerian Labour Congress amid a strike ultimatum.
The demands are the reversal of the 40 percent deduction
from the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund into the national treasury and the
appointment of Opeyemi Agbaje as chairman of the National Pension Commission.
Meanwhile, PenCom is yet to officially confirm Agbaje’s
appointment as of filing the report.
Recall that last week, NLC, in a statement by its president
Joe Ajaero, issued a seven-day notice to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to shut
down the economy.
The NLC’s had demanded the diversion of workers’ funds
domiciled with the NSITF and the constitution of the PenCom board.
However, reports showed that the federal government has
acted upon the demands.
In a letter to the NLC dated August 16, 2025, NSITF Managing
Director Oluwaseun Faleye said, “No further deductions would be made from
either contributions or investment proceeds.”
In the letter, Faleye confirmed that the Federal Ministry of
Finance circular (Ref: FMFCME/OTHERS/IGR/CFR/21/2021) dated December 28, 2023,
introduced a policy of automatic deduction of 50 percent from the internally
generated revenue of all Federal Government-owned enterprises.
NSITF clarified that said employers’ contributions remitted
to the agency, which are statutory liabilities and not government revenue, are
no longer being deducted following a March 2024 directive from the
Accountant-General of the Federation, and some of the previously deducted funds
have already been reversed.
“We have been assured that this matter will be addressed.
Both the Minister of Finance and the Director-General of the Budget Office, in
meetings held in August 2025, committed that no further deductions would be
made from either contributions or investment proceeds,” the NSITF stated in the
letter seen by DAILY POST.
Reacting to the development, NLC Secretary, Christopher
Onyeka confirmed the receipt of the letter, noting that its executive council
will review the correspondence before deciding on the proposed strike.
“The contributions to NSITF are intended to compensate
workers in the event of injury. They are not government revenue and should not
be used for fiscal purposes.
“Protecting these funds is our responsibility,” he added.
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