NSITF Fires Back at Sahara Reporters, Says ECSA Is Its Intellectual Property …. Assures employers of data security, insists certification services remain uninterrupted.

“ECSA was conceived, built and deployed within the Fund. The platform in its entirety is the intellectual property of NSITF.” ..... A statement revealed

The Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) has dismissed allegations surrounding the ownership, security and management of its Electronic Compliance and Safety Application (ECSA), insisting that the platform is its intellectual property and that employers’ data remain secure.

The Fund, in a statement issued on Tuesday in Abuja, was responding to a report published by Sahara Reporters on October 11, 2026, concerning the digital platform used for its electronic certification services.

Describing the report as inaccurate and misleading, the NSITF said it relied largely on anonymous sources and presented claims that did not reflect the actual ownership, operational status and management of the platform.

The Fund maintained that ECSA was conceived, developed and deployed internally, stressing that neither an individual nor an external organisation had a legitimate ownership claim over the system.

It also denied allegations that the application was copied or rebranded from the intellectual property of P2E Technologies Limited, the company awarded the contract for the E-NSITF Project on April 25, 2022.

According to the management, ECSA was developed independently of the E-NSITF Project, which failed to deliver a functional electronic certification system.

The Fund explained that the failure of the project prompted it to upgrade an existing in-house data harmonisation tool into the ECSA platform to support its certification operations.

“ECSA was conceived, built and deployed within the Fund. The platform in its entirety is the intellectual property of NSITF,” the statement said.

The management added that there was no evidence to support claims that the application originated from P2E Technologies, maintaining that the platform remained under the Fund’s ownership and control.

On concerns about the security of employers’ records, the NSITF said all information captured through ECSA was stored on its own database infrastructure, with administrative and privileged access restricted to designated officers.

It assured employers, employees and the general public that no employer data had been lost, copied, transferred or exposed.

The Fund further stated that its handling of employers’ information complied with the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023, adding that access controls had been reviewed to reinforce the protection of sensitive information.

Addressing concerns about the platform’s operational status, the NSITF insisted that its certification services remained active and had not been disrupted by the issues raised in the report.

It explained that the directive to staff to recapture company records from April 2026 was a deliberate business-continuity and data-validation measure designed to ensure that eligible employers continued to obtain compliance certificates while the handover process was being completed.

According to the management, the exercise should not be interpreted as evidence of a breakdown in the system but as a safeguard to maintain service delivery and validate existing records.

It maintained that certification services were still available, while the ongoing recapture of company records was intended to guarantee continuity during the transition.

On allegations that an officer had sought voluntary exit from the Fund with the intention of returning as a consultant to manage ECSA, the management said exit applications were processed in accordance with public service rules.

It stressed that no arrangement had been made, or would be permitted, to place a public digital platform owned by the Fund under the control of an external individual.

The management also addressed the allegation that the Fund failed to respond to enquiries from the media, explaining that media requests were handled through its official communication channels on behalf of management.

It urged journalists to seek clarification from the appropriate channels before publishing reports on the Fund’s operations, while reaffirming its readiness to engage with media organisations seeking to verify information.

Beyond the immediate controversy, the NSITF said it had strengthened safeguards governing the ownership, source-code custody, system access and exit arrangements for its digital platforms.

The Fund said the formalisation of these protocols would strengthen institutional control, improve accountability and protect the continuity of its digital services, irrespective of changes in personnel.

It added that clear rules on access privileges, ownership and handover procedures were essential to protecting public digital infrastructure and maintaining confidence among employers and other stakeholders.

The management reaffirmed its commitment to transparency, data protection and the effective delivery of services to employers and workers covered by the Fund.

It urged members of the public and the media to rely on verified information obtained through official NSITF channels, noting that enquiries could also be directed to its customer service lines.

The statement was signed by the Head of the Corporate Affairs Department of the NSITF on October 13, 2026.