Minister pacifies NIMC workers, raises panel to address grievances

• Crowds still at enrolment centres, operators hint of 50m collected NINs

Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami, has prevailed on members of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) chapter of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) NIMC chapter to shelve their planned strike, promising prompt resolution of their grievances.

Consequently, the minister raised a committee to consider the demands and report back in two weeks.

The decision was a fall-out of a meeting with the aggrieved employees yesterday in Abuja following the expiration of their 21-day ultimatum to the management to address a number of issues revolving around welfare.

Addressing The Guardian on the outcome of the parley, the ASCSN’s chapter chairman, Lucky Asekokhai, said it was the first time they were meeting with the minister, adding that he promised to act fast on their demands.

He said: “You know the minister is new because he just took over the supervisory role of NIMC in October 2020. You will agree with me that between last October and now, it is just about three months and three weeks.

“So, he has set up a committee to look into the issues raised and submit a report to him in two weeks so that he can look at the matters adequately. It is the Director in charge of HR that is the chairman of the committee. We and some other people are members.”

According to him, Pantami claimed that some of the issues were new to him.

Asekokhai said the minister urged them to put Nigeria first and exercise a little more patience.
MEANWHILE, there is still no respite for Nigerians, as crowds continued to besiege NIMC offices and enrolment centres across the federation.

This is even as cases of extortion are daily alleged against those superintending over the exercise, a claim the management has consistently denied.

It had severally directed the allegations at “miscreants” at the registration spots.

BESIDES, Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Gbenga Adebayo, said they have been consistent with the entire process.

He confirmed that the number of collected NINs was increasing on the telcos’ side, but was not too sure on the part of NIMC.

“But we would have crossed 50 million on the part of the telecoms operators, but I don’t want to speculate. There are more people getting their NIN every day and they are uploading them. So, the numbers are increasing on our side,” the ALTON boss added.