The Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) account has not been audited since 2012, Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige disclosed on Monday.
He spoke just as controversy surrounding headship NSITF) was laid to rest when the Minister finally inaugurated the Austin Isire- led board.
He spok disclosed some undeclared amount of money and property are being recovered from those who deep their hand into the funds of the agency.
The inauguration of the board was moved to the Presidential Villa to prevent another disruption of the process by Organised Labour, which insisted that only a board headed by Chief Frank Kokori is acceptable.
Addressing the board members, Ngige said the process leading to the inauguration has been long and tortuous due to conditions needed to be addressed and resolved.
He advised them to stay away from the award of contract but leave the parastatal tenders’ board under the supervision of the Bureau for Public Procurement to handle this.
Ngige said: “Though this Board is being inaugurated much later than its contemporaries, the NSITF is however better set to welcome a new Board than it was at the time when the other Boards of the Ministry were inaugurated.
“As you all may be aware, the last Board and Management of the NSITF left negative trails inimical to development and progress for both the human and infrastructural components of the Agency.
“The criminal investigations by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) and the subsequent Administrative Panel of Enquiry investigations revealed financial atrocities that would go down the annals of history of the NSITF as shameful and monstrous.
“At a time, the national dailies and social media were agog with the news of corruption and deep sleaze by some members of the previous Board in collusion with some top Management Staff of the Agency who aided and abetted the looting of both Government and Private Sector Funds of about N48 Billion from the N62 Billion contributions between 2012 – 2015 of the NSITF.
“This resulted in about four Board Members including the last Chairman being arraigned and charged to court by the EFCC. Some monies have been paid back to Government Treasury and about 37 Houses are now under forfeiture.
“The Administrative Panel report also indicted some Board members and NSITF Management Officers.
“The affected Officers have now been shown the way out, and many more indicted Officers by the Auditor General’s Periodic Report on the NSITF will soon be made to refund the monies illegally taken from the Fund.
“The Auditor General of the Federation (AUGF) had to be requested by us in 2017 when it became clear that there was no Audited Account for the place for five years to undertake the Constitutional periodic check.”
The Minister stressed for the first time, members appointed into the board were made to go through security screening which involved declaration of their assets before inauguration and assumption of duty.
He charged the Board members to ensure proper conduct of the affairs of the Agency to restore the confidence of the Nigerian Public in the administration of the fund collected for the execution of the Employees’ Compensation Act (ECA), 2010 which is the major mandate of the Fund, especially in view of the fact that it is the funds contributed by the Public and Private Sectors to execute this mandate.
The new board headed by Prince Austin Enajemo–Isire as Chairman has as members Olawale Osuolale Timothy and Dr. Mohammed, J. Yinusa (NECA), Com. Waheed Adewale Adeyanju and Com. Ibrahim Khaleel, Nigeria (NLC), Ifeoma Anyawutaku (Federal Ministry of Labour &Employment), Mrs. Umma Aminu Dutse (Central Bank of Nigeria), Jasper Azutalam, NSITF, Executive Director (Finance and Investment), Tijani Suleiman Darazo, NSITF, Executive Director (Administration), Titilola Olukemi Nelson, NSITF, Executive Director (Operations), Adebayo K. Somefun, NSITF, Managing Director/Chief Executive and Mrs. Ijeoma Oji Okoronkwo, Deputy General Manager -NSITF, who will serve as the Board Secretary
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