The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) said it has cleared all outstanding payments owed to the enrolment agents known as Front End Partners (FEPs) for the enrolments carried out between 2021 and 2024.
According to a statement issued by the Commission’s Head of Corporate Communications, Kayode Adegoke, the payments were for all enrolments that successfully hit the database and generated the National Identification Numbers (NINs).
NIMC in the statement pointed out that the FEPs were contracted in 2021 by the erstwhile administration through the former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy to scale up enrollment for the NIN.
“However, the FEPs were only paid for one year of enrollment activities,” it added.
Revalidation exercise
The Commission noted that on the assumption of Engr Abisoye Coker-Odusote as the NIMC DG/CEO, she promised to clear the outstanding owed to the FEPs.
“As part of the process of paying the outstanding money, all the FEPs were subjected to a revalidation exercise to ensure they met internationally acceptable standards, adhered to compliance, and followed best ethical practices.
“After the revaluation exercise, the NIMC, with the support of the Identity for Development (ID4D) and the World Bank, began the process for the payment of the outstanding NIN enrolment money owed to the FEPs,” the Commission stated.
- It noted that the outstanding money was not part of the World Bank-funded NIN Enrolment project.
- NIMC emphasised that the NIN Enrolment between 2021 and 2024 by the FEPs was a stop-gap measure approved by the erstwhile Minister of Communications and Digital Economy to scale up NIN enrolment pending the commencement of the World Bank/ID4D project.
“The NIMC through the ID4D and the World Bank, subsequently, paid all the outstanding money after the thorough evaluation,” it stated.
While appreciating the World Bank and ID4D for their support, Engr. Coker-Odusote also expressed her gratitude to the FEPs and the Commission’s stakeholders for their dedication to populating the National Identity Database (NIDB).
What you should know
Earlier this week, some of the FEPs under the aegis of the Independent National Identification Agents Union in Nigeria from the Southwest region had staged a protest over an alleged non-payment of their two-year commission and unlawful invalidation of their operational licenses by the leadership of the NIMC.
They were asking President Bola Tinubu to swiftly intervene on the matter as their means of survival had been affected.
Leader of the group, Taiwo Odebunmi said the hardship that they have been subjected to as a result of the non-payment of their commission and invalidation of their Operation licences is beyond comprehension.