The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has issued a stern warning to the Federal Government, threatening to mobilise workers for a nationwide strike if what it described as the “illegal diversion” of billions of naira from employees’ insurance contributions is not reversed within one week.
In a communiqué released on Thursday after its Central Working Committee (CWC) meeting, the labour body accused the government of unlawfully channeling 40 per cent of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) into the national treasury, a move it insists violates the statutes establishing the fund.
The NSITF, sustained through compulsory payroll deductions from millions of Nigerian workers, was designed as a social safety net to protect employees in cases of workplace injury, illness, or sudden job loss. According to the NLC, the government’s action undermines that purpose.
“The CWC expressed outrage at the ongoing assault on workers’ social protection rights through the Federal Government’s diversion of 40 per cent of workers’ contributions to the national coffers as revenue, in flagrant violation of the statutes establishing the NSITF,” NLC President Joe Ajaero stated.
The union also demanded that the Federal Government immediately appoint substantive leadership for the National Pension Commission (PenCom), describing the current leadership vacuum as a threat to the stability and transparency of pension administration.
“Pension funds are deferred wages, not government revenue,” Ajaero emphasised, warning that further interference in workers’ social protection schemes could lead to a crippling industrial action.
However, the National Pension Commission pushed back against fears of missing funds, insisting that the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) remained intact and was “secure and growing.” The Commission argued that pension assets are safeguarded under a strict regulatory framework, dismissing suggestions that they had been tampered with.
The standoff raises fresh questions about government handling of social welfare funds and workers’ trust in public financial management. Labour leaders say they will give no further notice before calling a strike should the government fail to meet their demands.
