The Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) and the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) have launched a nationwide push to curb workplace risks with the flag-off of the Safe Workplace Intervention Project (SWIP), aimed at strengthening safety compliance and protecting Nigerian workers across sectors.
Speaking at a press conference to announce the project, Managing Director of NSITF, Barrister Olúwaṣeun Faleye, said sustainable economic growth is directly linked to how well a nation protects, respects and takes responsibility for its workforce, noting that unsafe workplaces continue to undermine productivity and livelihoods.
Faleye explained that SWIP, though originally planned for 2025, was formally reconvened in January 2026 due to operational demands on both partner institutions, stressing that the timing does not diminish its urgency or national importance.
According to him, the NSITF-NECA initiative was designed as a practical response to the reality that many Nigerian workers are still exposed to avoidable workplace hazards, while several employers remain unaware of, or non-compliant with, the protections provided under the Employees’ Compensation Act, 2010.
He added that the core objective of SWIP is to save lives, protect jobs and boost productivity by making workplace safety and regulatory compliance standard practice rather than an exception, arguing that real change requires engagement, awareness and a clear understanding of safety as both a human and economic responsibility.
“SWIP 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.
“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.
“SWIP was designed to close this gap” and bring “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.” He said,
Faleye, however, called on the media to help escalate workplace safety to a 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.”
On her part, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Dr Sally Ousmane, in an address at the press conference delivered on her behalf by the Director of Regional Health and Safety, Mrs Florence Owie, commended NSITF and NECA “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 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’s 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 practices.”
In his remarks at the occasion, the Director-General of Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), Mr Adewale Smatt Oyrrinde, said Occupation Safety and Health has become a “core convention of the International Labour Organization, (ILO.)”
The DG, while explaining that the goal of the SWIP awards is “to enhance voluntary compliance”, revealed that some winning organisations “will be presented ambulances and personal protective equipment in Lagos, Enugu, and Abuja on the 20th, 22nd, and 27th of January 2026, respectively.
On the integrity of the selection process, Mr Oyerinde said the process endured rigorous multi-level scrutiny, auditing and vetting.
Looking ahead, he stated that the 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 of Operations, NSITF, Hon. Mojisola Ali-Macaulay, identified the joint assessment by the Federal Ministry of Labour and NSITF as a confirmation that safe workplaces are not aspirational but 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, while enjoining awardee organisations to become active ambassadors, share best practices and help lift their entire sectors, even as she urged NECA to “intensify advocacy and employers’ mobilisation”.
She further called on all stakeholders to “sustain and deepen collaboration by enhancing more evidence-based inspections, faster interventions, and stronger enforcement.”
Also, Ali-Macauley urged the media and the Nigerian public to keep occupational safety and health in the spotlight, adding that safe work is everyone’s responsibility and a foundation for national productivity and economic stability.
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