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NSITF dismisses allegations of job racketeering, others as fake news
The Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund, NSITF has reacted to an online publication, which among others accused its executive management of job racketeering, dismissing the allegations as falsehood deliberately fabricated by detractors.
In a statement Tuesday, signed by its General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Nwachukwu Godson, the NSITF stated that its letter of 25th January 2024 to the Supervising Hon. Minister of Labour and Employment was, in view of a process whose cycle can take a year or more to consummate.
The statement said- “The NSITF made a request to the supervising Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment for the replacement of vacant positions in the absence of a board of the agency as required by law. This is the first step.
“The rigours of the process which must adhere to the extant civil service guidelines will further stretch through the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation for the approval of our Annual Authorized Establishment; Letter of Clearance from the Budget Office of the Federation, another letter from the Federal Character Commission for a Waver not to advertise, before the candidates are interviewed and finally back to the Federal Character Commission for a Certificate of Compliance. The process will usually take as long as a year or more to turn full circle.”
The NSITF also stated that the allegation that it is “planning to buy a bullet-proof SUV Jeep for the Hon. Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Hon. Nkiruka Onyejocha” is untrue.
“Here, we are dealing with a pernicious rumour, a fabrication whose architects are incapable of details or an iota of evidence, therefore, a birdbrain requiring no further proof.”
Equally on the alleged staff promotion stagnation and other welfare issues, the NSITF stated that it has since 2022 introduced a computer-based promotion examinations that ended the corruption that riddled such exercise in the past.
“Our promotion examination process was further reformed in July 2023 with the results of the APER assessment released before the CBT examination. The CBT scores were also instantly availed to each candidate in all the centres on the touch of the final submission button! Our staff members never had it, so swift, so good!
“Overall, in 2022 promotion examination, a total of 1,032 staff between the ranks of Officer II to Senior Manager were promoted while 129 others were promoted to either Assistant General Manger or Deputy General Manager.
“Equally in 2023 promotion examination, 1671 staff ranging from Officer II to the principal manager were promoted. This is the highest promotion ever in the history of the fund. The management cadre examination could not be held because of the grey areas over which the former Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Simon Lalong set up a special committee to look into.
“Additionally, in line with commitment to decent work, the management reviewed the Staff Conditions of Service emplaced 29 years ago and implemented a new consolidated salary structure as approved by the National Salaries Income and Wages Commission further clearing a backlog of arrears of gratuity of retired staff members, further keeping the schedule of payment as and when due.
“We boldly also removed the disparity in payment between a category of our staff that are based in Abuja Federal Capital and those in other locations in the country.
“ At another level, it is important to add that the NSITF is up to date in remitting the staff housing deductions to the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, hence, preposterous for anyone to accuse the management of sitting on staff welfare and stagnating their promotion.
The NSITF further adjudged the allegation on e-NSITF as bordering on ranking ignorance or deliberate but futile effort to mislead the public. “There is no such thing as an N15B contract payment for the project. It is rather a Private Partnership Project with a concessionary period of 15 years within which the concessionaire company will inject the sum of N15b.
“At this instance therefore, we urge the known but unseen sponsors and propagators of this mischief to come clean on their unstated reasons for the re-occurring, but worn-out blackmail which takes an unchanging pattern, rearing its ugly head, each time a crucial decision towards the repositioning of the fund is to be made.
“The NSITF Executive Management will certainly not yield to this new gale of blackmail and will continue to do what is right including the right deductions of personal income taxes in line with the Finance Act, 2022 towards the re-engineering of the Fund as the apex social security agency.
“Lest we forget- the initial impulse of the NSITF is to ignore this sheer irresponsible journalism of a blog that neither sought concurring collaboration before going to bed with falsehood nor leave a column for comments on its platform. What with a poorly written statement issued by an amorphous self-claiming civil society group, with ghost membership and the story itself written without a byline!
“The NSITF does not respond to faceless groups, but our history has imposed on us enough reason to clear any doubt as to the direction of the current Management of the fund.”
….Writes NMDPRA, Engages Marketers to Stabilise Fuel Market
Photo caption: L R: Chief Executive Officer, Dangote Fertiliser Limited, Vishwajit Sinha; Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Dangote Petroleum Refinery, David Bird; President and Chief Executive, Dangote Industries Ltd, Aliko Dangote; Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, South South Development Commission, Usoro Akpabio, during the visit of SSDC members to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Fertiliser Plant in Lagos on Sunday, November 30, 2025.
Dangote Petroleum Refinery has announced plans to supply one billion five hundred million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) monthly to the Nigerian market in December 2025 and January 2026, a move aimed at ensuring uninterrupted nationwide fuel availability through the festive season and into the New Year.
President and Chief Executive of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, disclosed the plans at the weekend, noting that the refinery will make available 50 million litres of PMS daily beginning December 1.
“In line with our commitment to national wellbeing, and consistent with our track record of ensuring a holiday season free of fuel scarcity, the Dangote Petroleum Refinery will supply 1.5 billion litres of PMS to the Nigerian market this month. This represents 50 million litres per day. We are formally notifying the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) of this commitment. We will supply another 1.5 billion litres in January and increase to 1.7 billion litres in February, which translates to about 60 million litres per day,” Dangote said.
Photo caption: L R: President and Chief Executive, Dangote Industries Ltd, Aliko Dangote; Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, South South Development Commission, Usoro Akpabio, during the visit of SSDC members to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Fertiliser Plant in Lagos on Sunday, November 30, 2025.
Speaking during a visit by the South-South Development Commission (SSDC) to the refinery and the Dangote Fertiliser complex, he stated that the facility currently has adequate stock and is producing between 40 and 45 million litres of PMS daily. He added that the daily supply of 50 million litres should dispel long-standing claims that domestic refineries lack the capacity to meet national demand.
Dangote also revealed ongoing engagement with petroleum marketers to strengthen distribution systems, including expanding the use of CNG-powered haulage.
“Our priority is to ensure Nigeria receives the products it needs. This is not driven by profit motives; it is about guaranteeing the availability of essential energy products. It is similar to the transformation we delivered in the cement sector,” he added.
He further noted that the refinery is progressing with its expansion plan to reach a capacity of 1.4 million barrels per day. More than 100,000 workers are expected to be involved in the expansion of both the refinery and the fertiliser complex. Dangote emphasised that the Group remains committed to its vision, driven by the strong public support for the company’s role in shaping Nigeria’s economic development.
During the visit, the Managing Director of SSDC, Usoro Offiong Akpabio, commended Dangote’s leadership and his continued contribution to strengthening Nigeria’s industrial capability, national energy security and long-term economic competitiveness.
She described the South-South region as Nigeria’s natural energy corridor, with vast crude oil reserves, gas infrastructure, maritime assets, agro-industrial activity and emerging industrial clusters. She noted that deeper collaboration between the region and the Dangote Group could unlock opportunities in product distribution, CNG infrastructure, petrochemicals, agriculture, and employment creation.
Akpabio added that such partnerships would advance the Federal Government’s energy stability agenda and position the South-South as a strategic growth hub for the Dangote Group.
“As the statutory development body for the South-South, SSDC is mandated to drive regional economic development, infrastructure integration, human capital advancement, and private-sector–led growth. In this regard, we stand prepared to support State-level policy and regulatory support for Ease-of-doing-business across our six states. Enabling environments for Dangote Group’s expansion into strategic sectors such as gas processing, agro-industrial value chains, renewable energy, logistics, and export-oriented manufacturing,” she said.
In a letter from the refinery’s Managing Director, David Bird, to the Authority Chief Executive of the NMDPRA, the company reaffirmed its readiness to host NMDPRA officials onsite at the refinery from December 1st to verify and publish its daily supply volumes. The refinery also sought the Authority’s support to ensure unhindered importation of crude, feedstocks and blending components, as well as smooth vessel loading for product evacuation.
“In the spirit of full transparency to the public we are willing to publish our daily production and stock volumes (online and print media),” Bird stated. “We seek the full support of NMDPRA to allow Dangote refinery to import our crude, feedstocks and blending components unhindered as well as support the lifting of our products by vessel. We continue to experience delays in vessel clearance which impacts not only the refinery operations but also our customers, adding unnecessary costs and inefficiencies”.
By Bonaventure Phillips Melah
Photo caption: L R: Chief Executive Officer, Dangote Fertiliser Limited, Vishwajit Sinha; Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Dangote Petroleum Refinery, David Bird; President and Chief Executive, Dangote Industries Ltd, Aliko Dangote; Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, South South Development Commission, Usoro Akpabio, during the visit of SSDC members to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Fertiliser Plant in Lagos on Sunday, November 30, 2025.
Dangote Petroleum Refinery has announced plans to supply one billion five hundred million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) monthly to the Nigerian market in December 2025 and January 2026, a move aimed at ensuring uninterrupted nationwide fuel availability through the festive season and into the New Year.
President and Chief Executive of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, disclosed the plans at the weekend, noting that the refinery will make available 50 million litres of PMS daily beginning December 1.
“In line with our commitment to national wellbeing, and consistent with our track record of ensuring a holiday season free of fuel scarcity, the Dangote Petroleum Refinery will supply 1.5 billion litres of PMS to the Nigerian market this month. This represents 50 million litres per day. We are formally notifying the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) of this commitment. We will supply another 1.5 billion litres in January and increase to 1.7 billion litres in February, which translates to about 60 million litres per day,” Dangote said.
Photo caption: LR: President and Chief Executive, Dangote Industries Ltd, Aliko Dangote; Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, South South Development Commission, Usoro Akpabio, during the visit of SSDC members to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Fertiliser Plant in Lagos on Sunday, November 30, 2025.
Speaking during a visit by the South-South Development Commission (SSDC) to the refinery and the Dangote Fertiliser complex, he stated that the facility currently has adequate stock and is producing between 40 and 45 million litres of PMS daily. He added that the daily supply of 50 million litres should dispel long-standing claims that domestic refineries lack the capacity to meet national demand.
Dangote also revealed ongoing engagement with petroleum marketers to strengthen distribution systems, including expanding the use of CNG-powered haulage.
“Our priority is to ensure Nigeria receives the products it needs. This is not driven by profit motives; it is about guaranteeing the availability of essential energy products. It is similar to the transformation we delivered in the cement sector,” he added.
He further noted that the refinery is progressing with its expansion plan to reach a capacity of 1.4 million barrels per day. More than 100,000 workers are expected to be involved in the expansion of both the refinery and the fertiliser complex. Dangote emphasised that the Group remains committed to its vision, driven by the strong public support for the company’s role in shaping Nigeria’s economic development.
During the visit, the Managing Director of SSDC, Usoro Offiong Akpabio, commended Dangote’s leadership and his continued contribution to strengthening Nigeria’s industrial capability, national energy security and long-term economic competitiveness.
She described the South-South region as Nigeria’s natural energy corridor, with vast crude oil reserves, gas infrastructure, maritime assets, agro-industrial activity and emerging industrial clusters. She noted that deeper collaboration between the region and the Dangote Group could unlock opportunities in product distribution, CNG infrastructure, petrochemicals, agriculture, and employment creation.
Akpabio added that such partnerships would advance the Federal Government’s energy stability agenda and position the South-South as a strategic growth hub for the Dangote Group.
“As the statutory development body for the South-South, SSDC is mandated to drive regional economic development, infrastructure integration, human capital advancement, and private-sector–led growth. In this regard, we stand prepared to support State-level policy and regulatory support for Ease-of-doing-business across our six states. Enabling environments for Dangote Group’s expansion into strategic sectors such as gas processing, agro-industrial value chains, renewable energy, logistics, and export-oriented manufacturing,” she said.
In a letter from the refinery’s Managing Director, David Bird, to the Authority Chief Executive of the NMDPRA, the company reaffirmed its readiness to host NMDPRA officials onsite at the refinery from December 1st to verify and publish its daily supply volumes. The refinery also sought the Authority’s support to ensure unhindered importation of crude, feedstocks and blending components, as well as smooth vessel loading for product evacuation.
“In the spirit of full transparency to the public we are willing to publish our daily production and stock volumes (online and print media),” Bird stated. “We seek the full support of NMDPRA to allow Dangote refinery to import our crude, feedstocks and blending components unhindered as well as support the lifting of our products by vessel. We continue to experience delays in vessel clearance which impacts not only the refinery operations but also our customers, adding unnecessary costs and inefficiencies”.
Some women in Ezimo community, Udenu Local Government Area of Enugu State, on Saturday, staged a protest over the alleged kidnap of five residents and the shooting of another during an attack on the community.
The protesters, who marched through major parts of the community, said the incident had heightened fear and insecurity in the area.
One victim of the attack is currently receiving treatment in the hospital.
A social media influencer, ‘Sen.’ Chijinkem Ugwuanyi, made this known via Facebook on Saturday.
Ugwuanyi revealed that resident who confirmed the incident said recent cases of abductions and shootings had left the community unsafe, prompting the women to demand urgent government intervention.
In a video shared on Ugwuanyi’s Facebook page, the protesters called on the Enugu State Government and security agencies to step in and restore peace, warning that residents could no longer live under constant fear of attacks.
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