Managing Director and Chief Executive of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund, (NSITF), Barrister Olúwaṣeun Mayomi Faleye has advocated a rejig of social protection for Nigerian workers in the face of AI-induced disruption in workplace to accommodate new risks.
Barrister Faleye made the call in his presentation titled ‘Social Security and Protection for Nigerian Workers Amid AI Disruption’, at the 2025 Labour Writers Association of Nigeria Workshop in Ibadan Friday.
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, Barrister Faleye proffered that, “Social Protection 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.
Acknowledging the innovation and efficiency that AI represents in the workplace, Barrister Faleye was nonetheless, worried about the attendant displacement of workers. He said, “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.
Barrister Faleye identified Nigeria’s peculiar challenges to full social protection as low coverage excercebated by a large informal sector constituting over 80% of the economic sector yet outside of the safety net and limited awareness of the benefits and rights concerning the Employees’ Compensation Scheme operated by the NSITF.
However, Barrister Faleye was of the opinion 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 workshop is organised annually by LAWAN for its members. Theme for this year’s workshop was, Future of Works in the Era of Artificial Intelligence: A Wake-up Call for Stakeholders. The event which held at Golden Tulip Hotel, Jericho, Ibadan had leaders of both Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress, employers of labour and other stakeholders in attendance.
