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Tag: social security

  • Fed Govt seeks increased support for youth employment, social security

    Fed Govt seeks increased support for youth employment, social security

    The federal government has urged the leadership of the International Labour Organization (ILO) to support youth employment and social security in Nigeria.

    This is even as the government pushed for the engagements of Nigerian professionals at ILO.

    Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha made the appeal during a meeting with the Director-General of ILO, Gilbert Houngbo, in Geneva, Switzerland, on the sidelines of the 350th Session of the ILO Governing Body.

    The Minister, who represented the federal government, congratulated Houngbo as the first African DG of the ILO for over 100 years of its establishment, assuring him of President Bola Tinubu’s support and cooperation on strategic partnership.

    She also commended Houngbo’s achievements, including promoting social justice and fighting inequalities in the world of work. She also commended the ILO’s successful implementation of programs in Nigeria, particularly those focused on youth employment, a key priority for President Bola Tinunu’s administration.

    In a statement by her special adviser on media, Emameh Gabriel on Thursday in Abuja, the minister said: “We are seeing your handwork on labour relations, and we are proud of you as the first African DG, after 100 years.

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    “We will require technical assistance from you, in the departments in our Ministry, especially in the areas of digitalisation.

    “Nigeria is the second highest African contributor to the ILO budget (next to South Africa), thus the need to be more involved and strategically placed in the ILO. We therefore specially request that more Nigerian professionals be employed into the ILO to bridge the under-representation of Nigeria in the ILO workforce, both locally and internationally.”

    The minister informed the ILO DG that Nigeria was vying for re-election into the GB of the ILO as Regular Member for the 2024-2027 Triennium, and sought the support of the ILO.

    “Nigeria currently contributes the second-highest amount among African nations to the ILO budget, and Minister Onyejeocha requested increased collaboration and representation.

    “This includes seeking more technical support for the development of youth employment programs and skills development initiatives,” the statement said.

    “Additionally, Nigeria requested the ILO’s assistance in upgrading the ILO office in Abuja to a “Decent Work Office” serving English-speaking West Africa.

    Developing action plans for the implementation of recently ratified ILO Conventions. Digitalising and strengthening the country’s labour inspection system. Building capacity for Nigerian labour ministry officials.

    “Increasing the number of Nigerian professionals employed by the ILO.

    Nigeria also announced its candidacy for re-election to the ILO Governing Body for the 2024-2027 triennium and requested the ILO’s support.

    “The Minister concluded by reiterating Nigeria’s commitment to partnering with the ILO to promote decent work and social justice for all Nigerians,” the statement added.

    The ILO DG extolled Onyejeocha and Nigerians at the ILO, saying they have made good records of themselves.

    He promised that the ILO would continue to provide support for the country.

    He said: “I am happy to see a woman as a Labour Minister from Nigeria and a former parliamentarian. Extend my greetings to the President of Nigeria, Bola. Actually, Bola in my place means God that is why I will always remember his name.

    “Your representatives here in ILO are doing well, and Nigeria as our partner will continue to have our support on labour relations.”

  • FG committed to promoting Social Security — Ngige

    The Federal Government is committed to promoting social security in order to eradicate poverty, ensure inclusion and address contemporary socio-economic challenges in the country.

    Sen. Chris Ngige, the Minister of Labour and Employment, gave the assurance during the Induction/Award of Fellows Ceremony of the Institute for Social Security Development (ISSDEV) in Abuja.

    Ngige was represented by Mrs Dorcas Ajiboye, Director, Social Security and Occupational Safety and Health, and Cooperative Development Department in the ministry.

    The minister said that the event provided the opportunity to highlight the importance of social security in enhancing socio-economic stability in the country.

    According to him, the promotion of social security “emphatically proves the commitment of the government to its change agenda in ensuring the welfare of all citizens”.

    “With the emergence of various ongoing programmes in the Social Security, Social Protection and Social Safety net, different groups of vulnerable persons, unemployed and employed Nigerians have benefited, thereby ensuring and advancing good governance.

    “Social Security is generally considered as the panacea to poverty eradication, social inclusion, peace and other contemporary socio-economic challenges.”

    Noting that social security in Nigeria is fragmented, Ngige underscored the need to sufficiently prioritise the premise on which social security is built and called for more efforts to address the noticeable gaps.

    He gave assurance of the ministry’s commitment to work with all Social Security stakeholders for greater achievements.

    “More than ever, we all need to work closely in addressing this variance.

    “It is pertinent that deliberate and dedicated support from all sides be given to achieve comprehensive social security coverage in all strata of the society,” Ngige said.

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    Also speaking, Mr Issa Aremu, General Secretary, National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN), noted that Nigeria was one of the few countries lagging behind on the issue of social security.

    According to Aremu, who is also the Labour Party Governorship Candidate in Kwara, described social security as a set of policies and programmes designed to reduce poverty in any country.

    “I am happy that an institute is being formed to really raise awareness towards the improvement of social security in the country.

    “We can absolutely agree that social security is a human right; it is the right of every one.”

    Aremu said that the ongoing negotiation of the new National Minimum Wage should be used to also factor in the minimum pay for pensioners.

    “It is not just minimum wage for those who are working, I think there should be minimum pay for pensioners.”

    The Labour leader charged the institute to revisit the 2014 National Conference Report on the issue of Social Security as well as champion the cause for the creation of a Social Security Development Fund that would cater for the aged and vulnerable in the society.

    Earlier, Sen. Chris Adighije, President of the institute, said it was envisioned to assist the government, employers and workers towards building social protection floors and comprehensive social security system in the country.

    Adighije, who is also the institute’s Council Chairman, charged the new inductees on absolute diligence, commitment and professionalism in the discharge of their various assignments.

    He added that this is with a view to attracting more members so that the institute would grow to enviable heights.

    In a remark, the Registrar, Mr Johnny Okoronkwo, said the institute’s mission included enhancing the knowledge base on social security issues through capacity building and strategic partnership with relevant stakeholders, to ensure the development of a comprehensive social security system in the country.

    Okoronkwo said the institute would also promote public awareness on social security services and administration.

    “We will promote and support all social security interventions and ensure their adherence to national and international standards,” Okoronkwo said.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has played a major role in developing an internationally defined normative framework guiding the establishment, development and maintenance of social security systems across the world.

    It has become the world’s leading point of reference as stated in Convention No. 102, which is the flagship of the up-to-date social security Conventions since it is deemed to embody the internationally accepted definition of the principle of social security.

    The UN agency defines social security as the protection that a society provides to individuals and households to ensure access to health care and to guarantee income security, particularly in cases of old age, unemployment, sickness, invalidity, work injury, maternity or loss of a breadwinner.

    Nigeria is a signatory to the ILO Convention 102.

  • Social security: Fed Govt takes interest-free microcredit loans to grassroots

    The Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP) MarketMoni is a Social Intervention Programme (SIP) that provides loans of up to N300, 000 to rural dwellers. The scheme, anchored by the Bank of Industry (BoI), directly impacts traders, market women, artisans, and farmers across the country. COLLINS NWEZE captures experiences of some beneficiaries of the scheme.

    Grassroots dwellers, petty traders, artisans, traders and cooperative societies are among the most neglected segments of the society when it comes to credit access in Nigeria.

    Ironically, more than 70 per cent of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are operated by these categories of people. They lack access to loans and financial facilities to sustain and grow their businesses.

    But, the narrative is changing as the Federal Government has taken steps to bridge the credit gap and create wealth for Nigerians on the lower rung of the economic ladder. To tackle the issue head-on at inception, the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration introduced the Government Empowerment and Enterprise Programme (GEEP). The GEEP is one of the Social Intervention Programmes (SIPs), designed to offer zero interest rate loans to over 1.2 million beneficiaries at the grassroots.

    Under the scheme, micro business owners, who hitherto had no access to loans to grow their businesses, are being offered unhindered access to affordable micro credit.

    Some beneficiaries of the GEEP TraderMoni scheme, a unique micro credit facility rolled out nationwide by the government spoke on their experiences of the live-changing SIP.

    Joining a long line of other selected beneficiaries, Mrs. Patience Ikhiapa was overjoyed to receive her payment notification during the pilot phase of the TraderMoni interest-free loan disbursement in Edo State.

    Speaking on how she started her business, Ikhiapa said: “I thought it was a joke when a GEEP agent came to tell me that the government is helping people like me. Although I was reluctant at first, I gave the agent my details. Later, I got a call and a text to come for verification”.

    According to her, she was trading with only N500.

    She said: “I was selling cold pure water. Each day I buy a few bags and sell in public places. Things were very hard for me, sometimes at the end of the day, my gain may just be N300. In the process of hawking, I found a place in Sapele prison to sell bread and minerals to people. With this N10, 000 loan, I am planning to add more things to what I sell… I am very happy that little by little, things are getting better for me.”

    Mrs. Ikhiapa, alongside 368 others, got the interest-free loan of N10,000 per person in Edo State. Asides the money, the beneficiaries also got food and some products from well-known fast-moving consumer goods brands, to add to their wares.

    According to the GEEP organisers, majority of the beneficiaries were owners of ultra-small microenterprises, those known in the local parlance as petty traders. They were also mostly women, some with babies strapped to their backs.

    “They were called because of a renewed focus of the government, to tackle hunger, reduce poverty and improve standard of living of those who are often left out of the conversation on micro finance and credit schemes,” the organisers said.

    The government, through TraderMoni, seeks to offer interest-free micro loans to people like Ikhiapa, the food sellers, Mai Shais, petty craftsmen, shoe repairers, and other street traders. The scheme is an addition, to an existing one called MarketMoni, which already caters for market women, artisans, farmers and enterprising youths.

    Another TraderMoni beneficiary, Benedicta Imanogbe, expressed gratitude to the government for the loan.

    Mrs. Imanogbe, who is into soap making said: “I am going straight to the market to buy materials, more than the quantity I have always bought. I know people will be asking me where I got money, so, I will just be shouting that the government gave it to me. We do not believe money will get to people on the streets but this one is real.”

    Daniel Martins, who ekes out a living as a plumber, said: “I have a little caravan where I sell small plumbing materials. Once I finish paying back this small loan, which will help buy few things, I will apply for a bigger loan to expand my business some more.

    According to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, TraderMoni is for petty traders with trading capital not more than N5, 000 and N10, 000.

    Prof Osinbajo said: “We want to give those types of people some credit as well, and once they pay back, we will give them more money. We want to make sure that the very poor trader, no matter how poor you are, so long as you are trading or working, the Federal Government will support you by giving you some extra money to do whatever you are doing.

    “So, every Nigerian who wants to work, who wants to do something, can get the opportunity to do some work.”

    Explaining the TraderMoni scheme, the Chief Operating Officer of GEEP, Uzoma Nwagba, said since the scheme commenced 18 months ago, the government has been focusing on higher end of the micro-enterprises, disbursing N50, 000 to N300, 000 loans.

    “However, TraderMoni is focused on ultra-micro-enterprises who are literally people on the streets, involved in commercial activities.

    “We created a new category driven by extensive demand for much thinner, smaller loans that do not have much stringent requirements like Bank Verification Number (BVN) or belonging to a market association.

    “These people do not have BVN or bank accounts. They just have their mobile phones. Our agents go to them and capture their data, and we can disburse to them by creating a mobile profile for them automatically.” Explaining further, once the target recipient’s data is captured, and verified, his/her details will be put in a system that the operators monitor extensively.

    Nwagba said: “Subsequently, we will disburse a loan to you immediately that will come to your phone as a mobile money transfer and with that, you can go to withdraw the money at an Automated Teller Machine (ATM). You don’t need a card at the ATM, you just need the code that was sent to you then you can withdraw at any ATM in the country.”

    He added that the idea is to provide loans to those with no hopes of accessing credit, and in time onboard them into the mainstream financial service sector, which is a good way to drive financial inclusion.

    Nwagba said: “Think about it as the government taking interventionist approach of saying we have a category of Nigerians at the very base of the pyramid who are not even in our conversation because they are very difficult to track, hard to understand, they don’t have collateral, they are not educated, they do not have BVN, they do not have all the buzz and whistles and security that gives traditional lenders comfort.

    “So, we are willing to take a risk to be able to absorb the critical needs of every Nigerians, and we are hoping to scale this programme to two million Nigerians over the next few months.”

    He restated that the Buhari administration’s commitment every class of Nigerians.

    “These are people who are underrepresented and underserved, especially when it comes to finance, he said, adding: “We work very closely with Vice President, Osinbajo and he is quite obsessive about making sure that the right people get these loans.

    “That is why we can tell you that everybody who has gotten MarketMoni till this day, we can give you the name of the person, where they live, what they do, we can also track them and verify.

    “We do not have money in bulk to a state government, party steward or government official, the money goes directly into the account of the beneficiaries. There is no intermediary and there are no exceptions. I think by doing that, we are ensuring the integrity of the process.”

     

    GEEP Marketmoni enters Kano

     

    During one of his visits to Kano to assess the scheme’s impact, Osinbajo met with a section of the over 11,000 beneficiaries of the GEEP MarketMoni in the state. According to the Executive Director of Bank of Industry (BoI), Toyin Adeniji, the programme is aimed at reinvigorating the economy at the base of the pyramid, the hotbed of Nigeria’s financially vulnerable.

    Adeniji said: “GEEP MarketMoni is unprecedented in Nigeria’s history, granting interest-free credit facilities to existing microenterprises of market women and traders, artisans, enterprising youth and agricultural workers. It is critical to the Federal Government’s objective of inclusive growth.”

    All that applicants need to benefit from the scheme is apply through their registered market associations and cooperative societies; have a BVN and a mobile phone. The loans range from N10, 000 to N300, 000, tied to applicants’ BVNs. Beneficiaries are expected to paid back within a six month period without interest.

    According to the Group Head (Microenterprise) of BOI, Uloma Ike, over 11,861 people have benefited from the GEEP MarketMoni loan scheme and over 583 million naira has been disbursed so far in Kano State alone.

    Ike said: “The beneficiaries and representatives of various market associations whose members have received loans will be able to interact with the vice president, talk about the scheme and the impact of the loans on their businesses. It will also be an opportunity for the vice president to experience first-hand, the impact of the programme which today has touched the lives of thousands of beneficiaries nationwide.”

     

    States taking turns

     

    The GEEP MarketMoni interactive sessions had been held in several states across the country. Two of such sessions were in Onitsha, Anambra State, on April 11 and Akure, Ondo State, on May 3.

    In Anambra, over 2,000 traders and artisans met with the vice president, the Special Adviser to the President on Social Investments, Maryam Uwais, and the Minister of Industry, Trade & Investment, Okechukwu Enelamah. Top-performing GEEP beneficiaries in Anambra were selected to display their products at the exhibition grounds and to interact with the vice president.

    In Ondo State, the vice president interacted with several trade associations including market women.

    Speaking on the SIPs, Budget and National Planning Minister Udoma Udo Udoma restated government’s commitment to extend the scheme to everybody.

    Senator Udoma said:  “And that is why we have the social investment programme in which we have committed N500 billion every year in the budget, the school feeding programme, the GEEP. So, we have a number of programmes to make sure nobody is left behind”.

    Udoma who spoke during the World Bank Spring Meetings in the United States (U.S.), added: “I am very encouraged by the fact that the positives development in Nigeria are being recognised. The positive developments about economic recovery and growth plan, the things that we are doing to encourage investment, make Nigeria more investment friendly, I’m happy that all those are being recognised.

    “And the fact that the economy is out of recession and is growing again is also being recognized and the fact that growth is not dependent solely on oil. That there is growth in agriculture and other areas, so it has been a positive meeting for me.”

    Mrs. Uwais said the GEEP was designed to offer zero interest rate on loans to over 1.2 million artisans, traders, market men and women, as well as women cooperatives.

    She told reporters in Lagos that 70 per cent of MSMEs in Nigeria cannot access loans and financial support for business growth.

    Mrs. Uwais said: “GEEP works with cooperatives to assist MSMEs and the Bank of Industry (BoI), manages it by verifying the membership of the cooperatives through BVN. Those who default in repaying the loans get blacklisted and prevented from further access. GEEP targets 1.66 million MSMEs.”

    Speaking further, she said THE Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) has been designed to support one million of the most vulnerable and poorest Nigerians.

    The special adviser identefied  economic overdependence on crude oil, absence of critical policies driving inclusive growth and changing demographic profile as challenges that could not be left unaddressed, hence President Buhari’s decision to act.

    According to her, the programmes have taken off in 14 states.

     

    A partnerships that works

     

    The BoI and Unity Bank Plc are partnering for the implementation of the GEEP. Under the partnership, Unity Bank will provide account opening services to qualified beneficiaries of GEEP nationwide. These individual bank accounts will serve as channels for beneficiaries to receive loans disbursed by BoI. Beneficiaries will also make loan repayments through these bank accounts. Unity Bank will also provide BVN registration services for beneficiaries who require such, thereby increasing the financial inclusion in Nigeria.

    The bank’s participation in the laudable scheme stems from the strategic business objective of supporting MSMEs to access affordable funding.

    The bank’s Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mrs. Tomi Somefun, stated that the success of the partnership with BoI is testament to the fact that despite the difficulties of accessing credits by this segment of the market.

    She said the good knowledge and understanding of different players in the market segments and ability to harness inherent opportunities for their benefit has continued to differentiate the Bank in line with its strategic business focus on agriculture, retail/SME and rural economy.

    According to BoI’s Managing Director Kayode Pitan, the partnership with Unity Bank on GEEP will further enhance access to financial services to qualified beneficiaries and support BoI’s mandate for GEEP loans to reach 1.6 million beneficiaries nationwide.

     

  • President Buhari: do something!

    Let me at the very outset enter a caveat: This is no hysteria or histrionics of any kind. The issues raised in this piece are absolutely in the public interest, especially in the interest of the most at risk Nigerians who literally have no voice of their own. Among them are the unemployed and the totally unemployable s to whom the Federal Government’s social security programmes might have reached, and provide a succour of sorts, have our legislators not taken to themselves a hugely disproportionate part of the national income. Certainly among the victims of this crass selfishness, are government workers, millions of who are owed their salaries for upwards of eight months and some, as in Benue and Kogi states, for over 12 months. These are people whose children, and wards’ inability to pay their school fees have either taken to prostitution or chose almost certain death in the Sahara desert or, worse still, on raging seas in North Africa. Or sold into slavery.

    And that is where they have not simply succumbed to the elements.

    Thanks to Mr Peter Obi, former Anambra State governor, we now know that everything has broken down in Nigeria. According to him: “If he revealed how much a Nigerian governor earns, the outrage would be hotter than what trailed the N13.5 million monthly pay of senators.” “None of you,” he further said, “knows what a governor earns.  Quote me anywhere, if you know you won’t be here.”

    Nigerians already have details of what senators earn, and with those figures, we can work straight away. If any of the figures are wrong or outlandish, it will be the duty of the senate spokesperson to let Nigerians know. It will be the height of disrespect to the citizenry for the senate to resort to any sabre rattling and Nigerians will take none of such insult.

    For me, Olakunle Abimbola of The Nation remains a constant source of great delight. He writes for all time, now and, forever, and always, quotable. Let’s see him in DISTRACTIONS, The Nation, Tuesday, 6 March, 2018. He wrote, and I will quote him in ex tensor: “The more the president pines, the more he is scorned, if not by the quiet majority, then by a noise-some, virulent ensemble; most garrulous among whom are unfazed past wreckers, locating their own redemption in Buhari’s destruction.

    Yet, Buhari is nary the enemy.

    “As if bewitched, critical stakeholders of the Nigerian realm have joined this self-destruct crusade. In booming business are ethnic entrepreneurs, with their impassioned Fulani roasting; tribal pigeon-holing and ethnic scapegoating, their golden but empty panacea to rural banditry (read “Fulani herdsmen”), with its wanton waste of life. Churches live in scandalous denial of the tough economic rebuilding, play politics of the belly with their congregants’ plight and worship on the altar of cheap populism. Yet, that denial negates their core doctrine: purgatory before salvation – that tough path to spiritual renewal. If you don’t purge yourself of old vices, how do you appreciate the new grace? A section of the media, smug, severe, all-wise and all-knowing, point fingers, lecture and hector: a very few from the position of condescending knowledge; a good many from self-yoked, but badly disguised bigotry; and many, many more, just echoing the din, like some Roman plebs baying for blood, but never bothering to ask why! Among the commentariat, an anarchist’s manifesto would appear writ large!”

    What he failed to do in that piece, was cast a glance at the totally disreputable Nigerian legislature, an arm of government so unfeeling its less than 600 total population takes such a humongous portion of our country’s total annual income it would not be a curse to say that some of them will, very soon, choke on gluttony.

    Cognisant of the fact that many wished President Muhammad Buhari dead not too long ago, I stopped short, in the title of this article, from doing that which Ghanaians, our neighbours and brothers, did a while ago when they called on President Jerry Rawlings to save Ghana from the likes of the predators who now predominate the Nigerian political space. Cried hapless Ghanaians: J J, DO SOMETHING BEFORE YOU DIE.

    That is the war cry I am extending to the president today. If it is the only thing President Buhari will do for the remaining part of his entire life, he must save hapless Nigerians first, from the internal slavery the Legislature has dug us into. Their out of the world heist from the national treasury is choking Nigeria. They are so unfeeling not an all-consuming recession could make them bat an eyelid or have a rethink. They took it, all of their N13.5 million monthly heist, and more. What exactly runs through these fellows veins, what? Why is shame in such short supply among them? How many times a day do they feed their ravenous palates?

    Unfortunately, the respective Houses of Assembly, save one or two,  have become nothing but slaves to their Almighty Governors and there is no way they can call them to order. It is not unknown that many state legislators are owed salaries for months but you won’t hear a word. That is why the president must also handle all these leakages.

    Mr President, it has become obvious that we, an absolutely docile Nigerian citizenry, can no longer help ourselves, and therefore have no choice than to call on the only one man we elected to govern us, despite all the mischievous antics of the antichrists that now populate our country. By whatever means, Sir, you must stop this lootocracy in high places and the place to start is to kick the ass of the soporific and useless Revenue Mobilisation Allocation Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) which has remained deaf and dumb to all the noise made by Nigerians on the ignominious obfuscations its constitutionally prescribed roles have suffered in the hands of legislators. The agency must be sacked immediately with new members appointed to breathe life into it. Most of the legislators’ allowances are self- awarded; a direct consequence of President Obasanjo inflicting two luckless presidents on Nigeria both of who became playthings of the legislature, especially during the Speaker-ship of Hon Dimeji Bankole when they not only astronomically increased their allowances, but went a-borrowing from banks, to pay illegal  allowances that  were curiously backdated.

    Subsequent on Senator Shehu Sani’s letting slip their monthly pay, traumatised Nigerians have come up with several comments. Below is one on the Facebook wall of Valiant Samson Idowu-Alaba.

    IN CASE ANY FIGURE IS WRONG, LET THE SENATE CORRECT IT AS THE ONUS IS ON THEM.

    WHAT A NIGERIAN SENATOR GETS

    1. RUNNING COST

    Newspaper allowance…….N1.24m

    Wardrobe allowance……….N0.62m

    Recess allowance ………….N0.25m

    Accommodation…………….N4.97m

    Utilities …………………………N0.83m

    Domestic staff……………….N1.86m

    Entertainment………………..N0.83m

    Personal Assistant…………N0.62m

    Vehicle Mtce Allowance…N1.86m

    Leave Allowance……………N0.25m

    TOTAL RUNNING COST ………..N13.58m/month

    This adds up to N162.96m annually

    1. CONSOLIDATED SALARY

    He goes home with N750,000 monthly.

    This sums up to N9m annually.

    1. He is entitled to N200m annually to execute projects which is the duty of the Executive branch but which they normally corner, where executed, at all.

    SUMMARY

    Annual Salary…N9,000,000 per annum

    Running Allowance….N163,000,000 per annum

    Constituency….N200,000,000 per annum

     

    TOTAL N372,000,000.00 per annum.

    This amount is over N1,000,000 every blessed day including Sundays when he/she is in church.

    HE ALSO GETS THIS

    Severance Gratuity………… N7.43m

    (Is this as many terms as he does?)

    Furniture allowance ……….N7.45m

    Motor Vehicle Allowance…N9.94m

     

    TOTAL  N24.82m. I presume once in a Senate life.

    The above are the amounts to which Nigerians can put a figure.

    So Mr President, if clearing this Augean stable is, the only additional thing you can do for Nigerians, you would not only have earned a place in our history books, you would have earned it in our hearts.

    We know you can do it.

  • Makun Kingdom unveils Social Security Trust Fund

    The Makun Kingdom, a Remo sub ethnic group in Ogun State, on Saturday, February 25, unveiled what it tagged the Makun Social Security Trust Fund (MSSTF) as a self-help solution to the wide arrays of youth-related challenges threatening peace and stability in its communities.

    The event was the grand finale of the 19th edition of the annual Obaruwa Festival of Arts and Culture held at the Ansar Ud Deen Primary School, Sagamu, Ogun State.

    While declaring the programme open the Ewusi of Makun, Oba Timothy Oyesola Akinsanya, Orungba ii, noted that the dedication of the 2017 edition to the celebration of the youthful populace was an invention necessitated by “the need to urgently address issues relating to the youth in our communities where we can no longer sleep with our two eyes closed”.

    The monarch said: “The Obaruwa Festival is a celebration of the common ancestry and socio-cultural heritage of the Makun people found in over 150 towns and villages.”

    The Chairman of the occasion, Oba Adetola Emmanuel King, the Akile of Makun Kingdom, bemoaned “the criminal exclusion of a large chunk of Nigerian kids, teenagers and young adults by the orientation machineries of our system.”

    In his words: “Whether we like it or not, the young scavengers of today that our society has failed to cooperate to re-mould into a shape that would conform to the rosy future each of us desires for his or her biological children would, unavoidably, be part of the story of tomorrow”.

    The Akile, who is the Group Managing Director of ADRON Homes and Properties Ltd, declared that it was high time the country declared a state of emergency on youth affairs.

    The Chairman, Sagamu West Local Council Development Authority, Rafiu Awoyemi, applauded the Makun Development Council for its unrelenting efforts towards the maintenance of peace, law and order within the LCDA.

    The Chairman of the Obaruwa Festival Planning Committee, Mr. Oduguwa Adeboye, highlighted the nature and basic objective of the Fund as “a pool of public-private resources for the purpose of mobilising and financing the economic aspirations of the youthful populace of the Makun Kingdom”.

    Oduguwa added: “Social security, a general psychology of safety by which every individual member of a society, has no need to threaten or harm any other person in a bid to survive, would be achieved in all Makun towns and villages.”

    The MSSTF, which will be managed by a Board of Trustees in collaboration with an administration company, is scheduled for official launching in May 2017.

  • 120m Nigerians not covered by social security, says Trust Fund

    •’71 per cent living below poverty line’

    Over 120 million Nigerians living below the poverty line and working in the informal sector of the  are not covered by any form of social security as practised in several developed countries, the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) has said.

    Only those working in the public and organised private sector are benefiting from the Contributory Pension Scheme, Employee Compensation Scheme and the National Health Insurance Scheme.

    But those in the informal sector were not benefiting, the fund said.

    NSITF’s General Manager   for Social Security Ismail Agaka, speaking in Abuja at the weekend, said statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that 71 per cent of Nigerians were living below the poverty line and located in the informal sector.

    According to him, the Employee Compensation Act, which is being implemented under the NSITF, was designed for the public sector and the organised private sector, pointing out that the fund could not operate outside government programmes.

    Agaka said: “We have a situation whereby the formal sector employees mostly enjoy social security programmes. Meanwhile, there is ILO declaration that aims at extending social security to all by 2020.”

    He claimed that NBS data of 2012 claimed that 71 per cent of Nigerians live below  the poverty line, which translates to about one dollar and 20 cents per day, meaning about 120 million of the citizens are very poor.

    “This figure should give government more compelling reason to drive social security to the real poor largely located within the informal sector,” he said.

    Admitting that organising the informal sector was not easy, Agaka suggested that the sector should be formalised through trade guilds and associations for the purpose of extending social security to the majority of the citizenry.

    He urged the government to harmonise data generated by the National Identity Management Commission NIMC), Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and National Communication Commission (NCC) to midwife an effective and all-inclusive national social security programme for Nigerians.

    He explained that though the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity is charged with regulating implementation of the country’s social security, it had not been empowered to carry out the function.

    Agaka stressed the need to harmonise and coordinate various social security programmes executed in government’s ministries, departments and agencies, saying: “Nigeria does not have a structured social security yet.

  • Leveraging on social security to revitalise economy

    Leveraging on social security to revitalise economy

    Though unpopular in Nigeria due to weak economic policies, social security could be the tonic to revitalise the economy, according to experts, who says it would create wealth and bridge the poverty gap, reports TOBA AGBOOLA.

    Ffor long, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress’ (TUC) leaders, have been clamouring for improved standard of living for Nigerians.

    At various local and international fora, leaders of the unions have repeatedly called on all tiers of government to do more to lift the living condition of the citizenry through economic empowerment programmes.

    They said the absence of social security for Nigerians has negatively impacted on the fortunes of her citizens, a development which they blame on unbridled corruption and mismanagement of the nation’s resources.

    As far as they are concerned, social economic empowerment is the most acceptable means of tackling insecurity and reducing social vices in the country.

    Their position is anchored on certain premises. Investigations showed that in developed societies, social security play an important role in wealth creation and distribution, because of its ability to enhance the individual’s standard of living.

    To ensure peace and tranquillity in the Western world, most governments provide one form of social security or another, to protect the unemployed, aged and low income earners from  harsh economic conditions.

    The International Labour Organisation (ILO) recently announced that more than 70 per cent of the world’s population lack adequate protection. According to its Deputy Director-General, Mrs. Sandra Polaski, the global community agreed in 1938 that social security and health care for children, the working age population, who may be unemployment due to injury, and the aged, are entitled  to the provision.

    She said so far,  the promise of universal social protection remains unfulfilled for majority of the world’s population. She said the need for social protection has become more compelling in these times of economic uncertainty, low growth and increased cost of living in many nations of the world.

    Director, Social Protection Department, ILO, Mrs. Isabel Ortiz, said many less developed countries have seen the need for social security for their nationals, adding that due to the many laudable benefits inherent in social security provision, many proactive leaders have embraced it for their nations and achieved positive results.

    Mrs. Ortiz therefore, charged other nations, which have not embraced the measure to, as a matter of urgency, do so because of the benefits they stand to gain.

    She said: “Contrary to public perception, fiscal consolidation measures are not limited to Europe. In fact, as many as 122 governments are contracting public expenditures in 2014, out of which 82 are developing countries.”

    Her advice may have hit the right chord in the ears of the Nigerian authorities. The Managing Director, Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), Munir Ababakar, said Nigeria has joined the league of member nations of ILO that care for their employees in the workplace, and in the process, creating a pool of investible funds for social security and economic development, which would also promote industrial peace and enhance economic development.

    He listed other benefits to include favourable spin-offs such as employment generation and high productivity. He said the economic advantage of this would be enhanced and improved quality of life through prompt response to health challenges in the workplace with its attendant impact on Nigeria’s economic indices like Human Development Index (HDI).

    The Managing Director  Premium Pension Limited Wilson Ideva said  the widespread poverty in Africa is as a result of numerous factors exacerbated by lack of social security at old age.

    Speaking at the preview of the World Pension Summit ‘Africa Special’ in Abuja, Ideva said the event has the potential to address the issue of social security in Nigeria.

    “The contributory pension scheme is a vehicle for savings and investment and provides lump sum payment at commencement of retirement and also programmed monthly pension for retirees. The scheme, in addition, avails the government of large pool of funds to drive social and economic development,” Ideya said.

    Recently, the NLC, Delta State Council  called on the state government to introduce the payment of social security benefits to unemployed graduates and youths to lessen the pressure on them to resort to crime. Its Chairman, Mr. Williams Akporeha, called on Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan, to address the issue of social security.

    He said: “In addition to your laudable programmes of payment of bursary to undergraduates and scholarships for post graduate students, introduce the payment of social security benefits to unemployed graduates and youths.”

    He said the scheme can be developed with safety valves to make it possible for beneficiaries to start making gradual returns as soon as they secure employment with the state ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).

    “We envisage that a scheme like this will not only check youth involvement in crime, but also build confidence between the youth and state government,”Akporeha added.

  • Expert urges govt to support social security through insurance

    The Commissioner of Insurance, Mr Fola Daniel, in Abuja over the weekend urged government at all levels to

    support the welfare and security of the people through insurance.

    Daniel, who is also the Chief Executive Officer, National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), made the call when he received the ongoing National Conference Committee on Housing and Social Security.

    He said that there were so many ways government could support the welfare of the people through making sure that every aspect of life was insured.

    Daniel said government did not need to fund emergencies and the effects of crises when relief funds could have been provided through well articulated insurance arrangements.

    According to him, insurance of all assets in the country is the best form of social security any government can provide for its people.

    “The need to release the potential of the sector as an economic growth agent has often been lost as the insurance industry is yet to be recognised in all its capabilities.

    “The omission of the insurance industry among the professional bodies invited to the National Conference is a clear indication of the inadequate knowledge of the potential of the industry by the government,” he said.

    He reiterated the need for policies, such as mortgage insurance, to bridge the housing deficit in the country and also the group life insurance schemes to protect families of workers to be adopted.

    “The non-involvement of the insurance sector in the packaging of projects sponsored by development partners often deny government of the security provided by insurance, especially if these projects suffer damages.

    “Their replacements are at an additional cost to government or could be abandoned because of lack of funding, thereby defeating its whole purpose.

    “There is need for government to show more commitment to compulsory insurance policies to help generate more income and funds that could be invested for long term infrastructural projects.

    “We believe that when insurance becomes the major driver of our economy, it will provide more jobs, better social security, taking away 10 per cent of the country’s problem,” he said.

    He said that NAICOM recently introduced Micro Insurance to reach the grassroots and “Takaful” insurance based on Islamic religion laws for wider insurance reach and participation in the country.

    Earlier, the Chairman, Housing and Social Security Committee at the National Conference, Mr Ibrahim Bunu, said the committee was on a fact finding mission to NAICOM.

    “We have come to understand insurance as a platform for improving employment generation and as a platform for securing and supporting government development goals.

    “Understanding this will help us make a stand on the importance of having a vibrant insurance policy in the country,” he said.

  • I initiated social security scheme for the elderly, says Fayose

    •APC: he’s lying to win cheap favour

    The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti State, Mr. Ayo Fayose, has said he started the social security scheme for the elderly people in the state during his tenure as governor.

    Fayose spoke at the weekend while on campaign tour of wards in Ayegbaju and Oye Ekiti.

    “It is not true that Fayemi started the monthly payment for the elderly in the state,” he said.

    On the train with Fayose were Senator Ayo Arise, Dr Jimi Oke, Hon Duro Faseyi, Senator Clement Awoyelu and others.

    He urged the electorate to vote for him in the June 21 election to enable him continue the progrmme, adding: “I will improve upon the existing programme as being implemented by Fayemi and bring life to more people in the state”.

    But, the spokesman for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti, Mr. Segun Dipe, said Fayose did not initiate the scheme.

    He said: “No one in this state knew what our elders now know as ‘Owo Arugbo (Money for the elderly or social security scheme) programme until Fayemi came with it over three years ago.”

    Fayose said N2,000 was given to elderly individuals as allowance every month from 2003-2006 apart from special package for the widows.

    He said: “Though, I don’t want to engage in any controversy with anybody over any issue, the records are there for anybody to see. I started the social security scheme for the elderly in this state at the various local governments.

    “Elderly people were then given the sum of N2,000 on monthly basis and the widows were equally taken care of, aside the fact that l pay salary to workers, including teachers, on 20th of every month. Given another opportunity, I will improve on this.”

    Fayose said God has ordained him to return to power on October 15. The former governor urged his supporters to get their voter cards and embark on a house-to-house campaign.

    Dipe said Fayose lied on “the spirit of both the living and the dead by claiming to have given the elderly people social security benefits”, noting that all the programmes of the former governor were “half hearted and poorly implemented”.

    He said: “Fayose has again resorted to lying to win cheap favour. Let us ask him (Fayose) where exactly he implemented his social security scheme and for what category or class of people.”

    The monarch of Oye-Ekiti, Oba Oluwole Ademolaju, urged Fayose to ensure peaceful and violence-free election.

    Ademolaju said: “It is the view of we traditional rulers in this state that we want election devoid of acrimony. Fayose has said he does not want violence. To you his followers, please do according to his wish; don’t create unnecessary tension.”

  • Firm to hold public lecture on social security

    Firm to hold public lecture on social security

    TO ensure that the lives of Nigerians are taken seriously and basic amenities provided, the law firm of Bamidele Aturu & Co. has concluded plans to organise its fifth annual law and social development public lecture.

    The lecture, which will hold on October 29, at 11 a.m, at the Banquet Hall, Airport Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos, has the theme Social security: taking the lives of Nigerians seriously.

    A release signed by constitutional lawyer, Aturu disclosed that renowned political scientist, Professor Adele Jinadu, will be the guest lecturer. He will address such issues as what social security is? Is there any form of social protection or security for the marginalized? If there is any, is it adequate or sustainable, and what are the strategies and mechanisms for ensuring social protection?

    Others include: In what context and by what means can social protection be actualised? Are there inherent limitations in liberal democracy that militate against social security? Is a system of social security a means of entrenchment and consolidation of democracy? What are the implications of a regime of social security on governance structure in the country?