N25b boost for identity mgt as NIMC workers get pay rise

The Federal Government has strengthened identity management in the country with N25 billion.

The fund is for upgrade and replacement of the entire National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) identification infrastructure, as well as implementation of novel initiatives to boost registration of persons to over 62 million on the National Identity Data Base (NIDB).

Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami, who dropped the hint yesterday in Abuja, added that the funding would also improve the working conditions at the commission.

He, therefore, charged the governing board and management to ensure judicious deployment of the fund.

Pantami said one of the major challenges he came across in the supervision of the NIMC was poor working conditions.

According to him, since the inception of the organisation in 2007, several futile attempts, dating back to 2010, have been made to change the narrative.

This is even as President Muhamadu Buhari approved a new salary scale for the workers to encourage hard work and dedication.

The approval, consequently, jerked the commission’s yearly emoluments to N16.7 billion from N5 billion for its over 400 workers.

The minister, while communicating the announcement, said the President intends extending same gesture to other agencies, as the nation’s income improves.

With the latest development, Pantami said he had been begged by ex-workers that left on account of poor pay to return.

He urged revenue-generating agencies to redouble their efforts for improved pay to others.

Responding, NIMC’s Director General, Aliyu Aziz, lauded the presidential gesture, noting that it will boost the morale of staff.

He stated that the need for enrolment into the NIDB by Nigerians and other residents could not be over-emphasised

With the priority accorded the commission, the DG assured of NIMC’s unwavering commitment to ensuring that it lives up to its mandate.