NIMC Staffers Worsen The Nightmare Of NIN Enrollees

BY CAMI EZENWA

National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) staffers may have worsened the nightmare of prospective enrollees for the National Identity Number (NIN) by commencing a strike.

The prospective enrollees who have faced ranges of frustration across the offices of the NIMC have formally been locked out.

A notice of strike which triggered the latest development was signed by the President of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, NIMC branch, Lucky Michael, and its Secretary, Odia Victor.

“Consequent upon the just concluded congress of the above-mentioned association that took place on January 6, 2020, the unit executive directs all members of grade level 12 and below in the head office and state offices to report to their respective duty posts tomorrow January 7, 2020 and do nothing.

“All members at the local government offices and special centres are advised to stay away from their various centres as task force and implementation committees would be on parade to ensure total compliance to the directive”, a notice of the strike read.

The Eagle has carried stories recently detailing the frustration of Nigerians seeking NIN.

This came on the heels of a directive last month of the Nigerian Communications Commission to telecoms firms to disconnect the SIM cards of all persons who have not integrated their National Identity Numbers with their phone lines by the end of January.

A communiqué issued at the end of the congress meeting of the ACCSN, NIMC branch, said the strike had become necessary due to the exposure of staff to COVID-19 risks, lack of personal protective equipment, irregularities in promotion and poor funding.

Our correspondents in the previous reports have given indication of total disregard for the covid-19 protocols at NIMC centres which it covered.

In reference to such total regard, the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria added: “Staff members were infected with COVID-19 and adequate measures have not been taken to curtail the spread. The meeting resolved that safety of staff should be prioritised. Furthermore, the office environment should be fumigated immediately.

“The congress agreed that the NIMC staff salary structure approved by the Federal Government vide Presidential assent be implemented in the personnel appropriation of the 2021 annual budget effective January 2021.

“That the lopsided and irregular promotion done in 2017 and 2020 be reviewed, regularised and gazetted in accordance with public service rules.”

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It is not clear what the reaction of the federal government on this matter would be, but what has become abundantly clear is that the NIMC lacks the capacity to enable all Nigerians register within the stated deadline.