Senate passes workers’ compensation trust fund, federal polytechnics bills

The Senate on Thursday passed the Nigerian Employees’ Compensation Trust Fund Agency Establishment Bill, 2026, and the Federal Polytechnics Act Amendment Bill, 2026.

The bills were passed after the Senate recommitted them to the Committee of the Whole for further legislative scrutiny and consideration of necessary amendments.

Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele, who moved the motion for recommittal, said certain provisions required further review to ensure administrative clarity and a comprehensive legal framework.

He urged the Senate to rescind its earlier decisions on the bills and recommit them to the Committee of the Whole for consideration and passage.

Seconding the motion, Senator Kamorudeen Oyewumi (APC, Osun West) said the exercise would remove ambiguities and align the bills with laws establishing similar institutions.

The Senate subsequently considered the bills clause by clause and approved their provisions.

Bamidele said the Employees’ Compensation Trust Fund Bill seeks to repeal the NSITF Act and the Employees’ Compensation Act and replace them with a new framework.

According to him, the proposed legislation provides compensation for death, injury, disease or disability arising out of, or in the course of, employment, as well as related matters.

He said the Federal Polytechnics Act Amendment Bill seeks to amend the existing law governing federal polytechnics to review their functions and address related matters.

Both bills were subsequently read for the third time and passed.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio commended the Senate Leader and lawmakers for their contributions, saying the bills would support workers’ welfare and strengthen technical education.

He said the legislation would help protect workers through compensation provisions while ensuring that technical institutions serve the country’s economic development needs.