Managing Director and Chief Executive of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund, (NSITF), Barrister Olúwaṣeun Mayomi Faleye, has advocated the adoption of fresh initiatives to address work-related risks resulting from emergence of artificial intelligence.
He said there is need to retool social protection package for Nigerian workers in the face of AI-induced disruption in workplace to accommodate new risks.
A statement signed by the NSITF Deputy General Manager Corporate Affairs Alex Mede quoted Faleye as having made the call in his presentation at the 2025 Labour Writers Association of Nigeria Workshop in Ibadan
In his presentation titled; ‘Social Security and Protection for Nigerian Workers Amid AI Disruption”, the Managing Director said due to technological innovations such as AI, “work-related risks are expanding.
“They are no longer only injuries sustained in factory floors; they now include technological displacement, income instability, and psychological stress caused by rapid workplace changes.”
To mitigate these risks, Faleye said that a new social protection order must evolve.
“We must rethink coverage, redefine risk, and reimagine support. In the era of AI, social security must not only compensate, it must empower.”
He therefore called for intentional policies and sustained investment in social security.
Faleye expressed worry about the attendant displacement of workers., adding, “AI promised efficiency and productivity, but it also threatens traditional jobs from factory floors to administrative offices.”
He posited that the question should be protection of displaced workers.
Faleye also identified Nigeria’s peculiar challenges in ensuring full social protection, saying that low coverage is being exacerbated by a large informal sector constituting over 80 percent of the economic sector which is outside of the safety net.
He attributed this low patronage to limited awareness of the benefits and rights concerning the Employees’ Compensation Scheme operated by the NSITF.
Faleye however expressed the hope that AI itself could play positive role in achieving global social protection coverage in Nigeria.
“AI itself offers tools to make social protection more efficient. From digital identity systems that verify workers, to predictive analytics that help detect fraud or anticipate workplace risks before they happen,” he explained.
The NSITF’s Managing Director went on to highlight priority areas in achieving desired results as expansion of social security and protection, investing in digital literacy and reskilling for workers, leveraging AI for social security delivery, collaboration among government, labour, and employers for sustained dialogue, and making the Nigerian workers’ welfare the centre of all innovation.
The managing director urged journalists to help disseminate information on the issue.
Onyebuchi Ezigbo
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