DG/CEO, NIMC, Engr Abisoye Coker-Odusote.

The National Identity Management Commission NIMC has said it is currently reviewing the framework for the licensing of its Front End Partners FEPs, with a view to eliminating corrupt practices, especially extortion associated with the National Identification Number NIN enrolment processes.

Recall that the Commission had trained, equipped and engaged the FEPs, who conduct the NIN enrolment on its behalf in some parts of the country, especially hard-to-reach areas where the Commission does not have adequate logistics in terms of manpower and structure to carry out its statutory duty of NIN enrolment

The Commission has also again warned Nigerians, residents and indeed all intending NIN enrolees that the Commission does not charge money to enrol people for the NIN identification number, which is at the core of its statutory mandate.

Speaking at the ongoing two-day roundtable workshop with publishers of online newspapers with the theme: “Building Formidable Bridges with the Digital Media Ecosystem”, holding in Lagos, Thursday, Director, Information Technology and Identity Database (IT/IDD) Engr. Lanre Yusuf, disclosed that the Commission is reviewing the framework for its FEPs with a view to eliminating all forms of corruption associated with the FEPs’ enrolments.

The Director, who took participants at the workshop through the five-point agenda of the current management of NIMCI led by the Director General/CEO, NIMCI, Engr Abisoye Coker-Odusote, noted that the Commission has been inundated with reports and complaints about extortion by some of the FEPs, who allegedly collect money before they enrol members of the public into the NIN window.

According to him, the review had become necessary and expedient to address all the challenges associated with the operations of the FEPs, especially corruption and extortion in line with the zero tolerance to corruption policy of the new DG/CEO, Engr. Coker-Odusote.

He further disclosed that in addition to extending its operations across the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and all the 774 local government areas in the country, the Commission is also currently expanding its operations into the wards across the country in line with the desire of the current management to ensure that no one is left out.

The Director listed that the Coker-Odusote five-point agenda, which derives from President Tinubu’s eight-priority areas to include increase NIN enrolmentsby Increasing the NIDB capacity, create more special centres, introduce self-service for front-end services.

Others include the harmonisation and integration of data across all agencies, which it seeks to achieve through continuous inter-agency collaborations to enhance integration and harmonisation with all Ministries, Departments and Agencies MDAs, relaunch of GMPC issuance and inclusion of applets on the card.

Part of the agenda is to boost access to services to aid financial inclusion through G2P payments through the activation of payments and other solutions on the GMPC continued collaboration with state governments for integration with residents’ registration effort and boost the availability of seamless verification services to all financial institutions, increase public and private sector participation In using the NIN as the foundational data for identification, continued enforcement of the mandatory use of NIN and aggressive monitoring and evaluation of the compliance to NIN use as well as to continue to increase awareness for the efficacy of the NIN, among others.

Meanwhile, Coordinator of the Project Implementation Unit PIU, Mrs Tito Ejanavi, who spoke earlier, restated the commitment of the international partners; the World Bank, European Investment Bank and the AFD under the ID4D project to ensure that no one, especially persons with disability is disenfranchised.