A statement announcing the shutdown of all National Identity Management Commission’s (NIMC) National Identity Number (NIN) registration enrolment centres in five states last week by the Commission, where it erroneously claimed that “all enrolment activities, card collection and other related activated are hereby suspended in the aforementioned states till further notice,” has continued to raise confusion and apparent deceit.
Many observers who saw the statement viewed it with disappointment and official intention to embarrass the collective intelligence of Nigerians as the Commission is fully aware that it never gave anybody any card in its process of NIN registration, but mere print out slip due to poor capacity.
Analysts further argued that the choice of word (card collection), would further cause confusion amongst Nigerians going for NIN as on the basis of the comment, there would be misunderstanding between the enrolment agents and applicants who would want to collect their Card as against the NIN slip printout which NIMC had been giving Nigerians in the last couple of years. It is on record that NIMC had never given anybody a national ID card, but ordinary blurred printed slip which the Federal government had made mandatory for access in every government services instead of a standard National ID card which Nigerians had been longing for.
whereas efforts to find out from the Commission’s DG, Engr Aliyu Aziz on why the deceitful word was used instead of slip in the state statement failed, the statement Signed by Head, Corporate Communication of the agency, Kayode Adegoke for the enrolment suspension further noted that “As part of the measures to avert the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), has ordered the immediate shut down of all its enrolment centres in Lagos, Ekiti, Ogun, Katsina and Anambra states.
“The move becomes necessary to prevent our staff and applicants from getting more vulnerable to the pandemic.
“Consequently, all enrolment activities, card collection and other related activated are hereby suspended in the aforementioned states till further notice.
“The closure is not intended to create panic but to arrest the spread of the disease, which has become a global threat.
“We hereby regret any inconvenience the closure might cause as our paramount concern as a responsible and responsive Commission is the safety of all,” NIMC corporate chief averred.
