Workers of the National Identity Management Commission
(NIMC) continued the enrolment exercise for the National Identity
Number (NIN) on Monday after a two-day strike.
In continuation of its coverage of the registration process in
Lagos, Channels Television crew visited more than seven
local governments.
While the process may have been stalled, the challenges faced by
enrolees and even the NIMC workers are not likely to fade away
anytime soon.
“Enrol once and be identified for life,” that was the footnote
of the signpost that welcomes enrolees to the agency’s office
nationwide.
But getting registered for – a process which the Minister of
Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Pantami, said should
take less than 10 minutes – has left a bitter taste in the mouth of
many Nigerians.
A Temporary Setback
8, 2021, a signpost is seen at the NIMC office in the Alausa area
of Lagos State.
A look inside the NIMC office in Alausa, and all seemed cool and
calm, but outside the premises was where the chaos lived.
From the crowd of mostly angry applicants who throng enrolment
centres on a daily basis, there were obvious gaps, enough to make
one wonder whether the NIMC was properly set up for the national
assignment.
The exercise was temporarily disrupted when the Senior Civil
Servants of Nigeria (ASSN) of NIMC embarked on a strike over
several challenges, including staff exposure to COVID-19 risks,
lack of personal protective equipment, irregularities in promotion,
and poor funding, among other issues.
To limit the number of people coming to their offices, the
agency announced in December that enrolment would be done through a
booking system.
8, 2021, some women are seen at the NIMC office in the Alausa area
of Lagos State.
Despite the step taken by the NIMC, officials decried that most
applicants failed to follow the instruction as they would rather
show up at the enrolment centres hoping to get the process done as
fast as possible.
But the situation was entirely different at the local government
offices where the control of the process appeared to have slipped
off the agency’s hands.
Officials of the local governments tried to create a semblance
of orderliness, but the bottlenecks were very visible.
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Only one computer was kept in a usually dark and discreet part
of the local council – with a large number of people waiting in
line to be registered.
Breach Of Procedure?
Benard Keneth told Channels Television that he had been
going to Alimosho Local Government for almost a week to get
registered without making any headway.
He claimed that the officials were intentionally slowing down
the process to execute their extortion plan.
Benard’s complaint was similar to the situation in Agege,
Kosofe, Surulere, Mushin, Ikeja, Yaba and other local governments
visited.
Channels Television discovered that the process may
have been hijacked by middlemen who were on hand to assist those
who want to fast-track the process.
office in the Alausa area of Lagos State on January 8,
2021.
This breach of procedure breeds more frustration for enrolees,
especially for those who genuinely wait in line.
In December, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC)
ordered all telecommunications company to suspend sale,
registration and activation of new Subscriber Identification
Modules (SIMs).
This followed Dr Pantami’s directive that the NCC should embark
on another audit of the nation’s Subscriber Registration
Database.
The Federal Government believes harmonising all phone numbers
through the NIN will help to curtail and checkmate the lingering
security challenges in some parts of the country.
2021, shows dozens of enrolees prevented from entering the NIMC
office in the Alausa area of Lagos State.
While many have faulted the timing and execution of the
directive, the government insisted there was no better time for the
digital identity ecosystem framework to be executed.
Those tabling the timing argument have reservations, especially
with the total COVID-19 figures rising by the day in the wake of
the second wave of the virus.
According to the NIMC, no fewer than 15 million people with bank
verification number (BVN) have been linked with the National
Identity Number.
As the exercise continues, the agency is expected to overcome
the data integration challenges and issues of touting, extortion,
and COVID-19 concerns.
Read more https://swordpress.com.ng/2021/01/12/nin-enrolment-the-struggles-challenges-at-registration-centres/