Crisis Looms In NIMC Over Fate Of 900 Workers

The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and 900 of its workers are on the war path over an alleged plan to sack or “transfer” them to the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).They also claimed that the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation (OHoSF) had stopped them from promotion tests because of certain actions of the NIMC. The affected workers are in the pool executive cadre of the commission.
 In 2012, 4,029 workers of the commission were sacked for their alleged inability to meet up with a six-year period of grace given them to acquire university degrees, which led to a series of protests by affected members of staff.
LEADERSHIP Sunday learnt that the commission’s director-general of NIMC Mr. Chris Onyemenam to “sack” the 900 inherited pool workers from the defunct Department of National Civic Registration (DNCR) to pave way for the employment of new staffers in the organisation.
Some of the aggrieved workers claimed that over 2,000 new staff members are being screened and documented by the organization ahead of their resumption of duty. But the protesting employees say that this happening amid their stagnation by the management over the years.
Some of the employees, who pleaded anonymity for fear of being victimised by the management, said their career is being threatened by certain actions of the commission.
They accused the NIMC boss of denying them the opportunity for career progression by his refusal to implement their letters of promotion from the OHoSF.
When contacted, the commission’s deputy director of Corporate Communications, Mr. Abdulhamid Umar, said there were no plans by the commission to retrench any worker. Umar said there was no crisis between the management and the workers.
 ‘‘Please, it’s not true that NIMC is retrenching any staffers. However, the Head of Service of the Federation has requested to audit/verify the staff members in NIMC. I am aware that exercise is ongoing,’’ he stated.
But, the workers said because of the inaction of NIMC on the letters, the HoSF had prevented NIMC pool staffers from participating in subsequent promotion examinations and interviews.
This they said had seriously affected their career progression and appealed to the federal government to save them from the inhuman work situation in the agency.
According to the workers, they were engaged by the defunct Department of National Civic Registration (DNCR) under the former Federal Ministry of Internal Affairs in 2002 and 2003. They said their appointments were transferred to NIMC in November 2009 after which new appointment letters were issued to them by the organization.
The employees who described themselves as concerned staff members in the pool executive cadre, said: “Likely due to the appointment letters issued to us, the NIMC management has arrogantly refused to honour and implement letters of promotion forwarded by the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation for NIMC pool staff. And apparently responding to NIMC action, the OHoSF had prevented NIMC pool staffers from participating in subsequent promotion axms/interviews organised by OHoSF.
 “In the event that OHoSF succumbs to the power politics of NIMC for the transfer of about 900 inherited pool staff to MDAs, we may not recover the series of promotions lost so as to be at the same levels with our colleagues in the various MDAs. Where is it done that a man upon taking over an asset or liability is allowed to flush out all inherited staffers to gratify his political associates and friends whose wards are the beneficiaries in the recruitment to replace same. Is there no voice to speak for the voiceless?
 ‘’Majority of us have additional qualifications as against the management’s claims that we have not improved ourselves. Some of us are also undergoing courses in higher institutions with NIMC’s approval. So, why would the management now plan to transfer us to Head of Service where we will not be accepted in the first place? The belief is that having issued us letters of appointment by NIMC; we are bonafide staff members of the organisation.