Thousands of applicants have been locked outside of the offices of the Staff of the National Identity Management Commission on Thursday commenced a strike action, thereby threatening the ongoing linking of mobile-phone subscribers’ National Identity Numbers.
At various offices of the commission nationwide, thousands of applicants wishing to register for and obtain thin NIN were stranded as they were locked out of the offices.
The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, NIMC branch, leadership issued the notice of strike, which was signed by the President of the 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,” the notice said.
“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.”
The Nigerian Communications Commission last month asked all mobile-phone subscribers in the country to integrate their SIM with their NIN numbers. NCC initially said subscribers who failed to do so by December 30, 2020 would be disconnected.
The deadlines were later extended for those who already had their NIN, and those who are yet to obtain theirs from the NIMC.
The number of Nigerians who are yet to link their phone lines to their NIN is estimated to be as high as 100 million, which has led to large crowds gathering at NIMC’s offices nationwide, despite the rising incidence of COVID-19 pandemic..
A communiqué issued at the end of the congress meeting of the ACCSN, NIMC branch, declared that 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.
They also asked to be paid overtime and given enough tools to work with.
“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 noted.
“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.”
