…Threatens national directive halting workers’ fund deductions, remittances
By Victor Ahiuma-Young
The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, has launched a blistering attack on the National Assembly over the proposed Nigeria Social Security Trust Fund, NSSTF, Bill, describing it as a direct assault on workers and a “declaration of war” on the nation’s working class.
In a strongly worded petition to Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, President of NLC, Joe Ajaero, condemned the bill as “a brazen and unpatriotic act of class warfare.”
He accused the lawmakers of plotting to seize control of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund, NSITF, and turn it into a “political slush fund.”
He said the move was not a reform but “a strategic manoeuvre by elements within the state apparatus to expropriate and plunder the collective wealth of the working class, accrued from our sweat and toil.”
Ajaero further expressed dismay that while the Senate had failed to act on the tripartite-reviewed Labour Administration Laws, it had instead “found time to orchestrate an attack on workers’ social security.”
He said this legislative priority was “a conscious decision to take side with the forces of exploitation against the working class.”
The petition, dated October 27, 2025, titled “That NSSTF BILL: A betrayal of our collective trust,” read: “The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, on behalf of millions of Nigerian workers and the entire working class, writes to express our deep disgust and total rejection of the proposed Nigeria Social Security Trust Fund, NSSTF, Bill, which is currently being considered in the hallowed chambers of the National Assembly.
“This bill is clearly not a reform, it is a brazen and unpatriotic act of class warfare. It represents a strategic manoeuvre by elements within the state apparatus to expropriate and plunder the collective wealth of the working class, accrued through our sweat and toil.
“We state, without equivocation, that the NSSTF Bill is an enemy of social justice, a grave assault on the principles of tripartism, and a declaration of war against the Nigerian worker.
“It is a profound irony that the Senate, which has ignored our persistent calls to rescue the tripartite-reviewed Labour Administration Laws from over five years of executive captivity, now finds time to orchestrate an attack on workers’ social security.
“These long-delayed laws, despite their limitations, represent a step toward a more productive and equitable industrial relations system. Yet, the Senate abandons this opportunity for progress in favour of the NSSTF Bill, a regressive and anti-worker diversion.
“This choice is not accidental, it is a conscious decision to side with the forces of exploitation against the working class. We, therefore, demand that the Senate abandons this path and prioritise the transmission and passage of the tripartite Labour Laws, instead of playing politics with such a vital issue that affects workers’ lives and livelihoods.
“Our core grievance lies in the bill’s sinister design to dismantle the tripartite governance structure established under the existing Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund, NSITF, Act of 2004 and the Employees’ Compensation Act, ECA, of 2010.
“This structure, ensuring balanced representation for government, employers (NECA), and Labour (NLC), is the only safeguard that prevents the state from treating the Fund as its political slush fund.
“The proposed bill, in a dictatorial stroke, seeks to replace this collective trusteeship with a government-dominated Governing Board, effectively handing over control of the workers’ treasury to political appointees.”
‘’We, hereby, serves the following unequivocal notice: We outrightly and completely reject the NSSTF Bill in its entirety. It is a poisonous piece of legislation that must be withdrawn immediately.”
“Our representation on the Board is non-negotiable. We demand not a reduction, but an enhancement of workers’ representation to three seats, reflecting the collective strength of the Nigerian working class.
“The sanctity of the tripartite structure must be preserved. The principle of equal voice among government, employers, and labour is the foundation upon which the Fund stands.
“Should the National Assembly proceed on this treacherous path of legalising the seizure of workers’ funds, the Nigeria Labour Congress will have no option but to issue a national directive to all workers and their unions to cease and desist from further deductions and remittances to the NSITF.
“If the Fund is hijacked and converted into a tool for primitive accumulation by those who should protect it, we will not stand by and watch our contributions looted.
“We, therefore, urge the leadership of the Senate to stand this bill down immediately. Do not allow the Senate to become a conveyor belt for the alienation and impoverishment of Nigerian workers.
“The NLC stands ready to mobilise its entire membership and ally with civil society organisations to resist this attempt to hijack our collective social security.”
Recall that the Organised Private Sector of Nigeria, OPSN, had few days ago, expressed outrage over the planned amendment of NSITF Act, describing the move by the Senate as a dangerous attempt to hijack and politicise the management of workers’ social protection funds.
The OPSN, which comprises the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, MAN, the Nigeria Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, NACCIMA, the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association, NECA, the Nigeria Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, NASME, and the Nigeria Association of Small Scale Industrialists, NASSI, warned that the amendment threatened transparency, accountability, and the very foundation of the Fund’s governance structure.
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