The National Industrial Court has ordered the Rivers State Board of Internal Revenue Services to pay the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) ₦88,058,695 as full and final settlement of Employees’ Compensation Scheme liabilities for the period January 2015 to December 2024, directing that the payment be made within 30 days.
Delivering judgment at the Port Harcourt Judicial Division, Hon. Justice Muhammad Hamza said the sum represents the agreed settlement arising from the statutory obligation of the Rivers Revenue Board to remit contributions into the Employees’ Compensation Fund under the Employees’ Compensation Act 2010.
The NSITF submitted that the Rivers Revenue Board qualifies as an employer under the Act and is required to make a minimum monthly contribution of one per cent of its total payroll. It stated, however, that the agency failed to provide payroll records or remit the mandatory contributions despite several engagements, including demand letters, reminder notices, and statutory assessment notices.
Following the continued refusal to provide payroll records, the NSITF exercised its statutory powers to estimate the payroll and assess outstanding contributions and penalties.
After both parties adopted their Terms of Settlement, Justice Hamza held that the Rivers Revenue Board agreed to pay ₦74,833,648 as statutory contributions, ₦11,225,047 as a penalty for default, and ₦2,000,000 as the cost of recovery, bringing the total to ₦88,058,695 payable to the NSITF.
The court also ruled that the NSITF would not conduct further audits in relation to remittances for the agency’s workplace for the relevant period.
