by Emma Okonji
The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has suspended all identity registration and enrolment, including other ancillary services nationwide.
The suspension came on the heels of the recent directive by the federal government for all officers on Grade Level 12 and below to stay off work, following the outbreak and spread of the COVID-19 that has killed thousands of people globally.
The directive was a follow up of its initial announcement few days ago, to shut down all its enrolment centres in five states of the federation.
In a statement issued by NIMC and signed by its Head of Corporate Communications, Mr. Kayode Adegoke, it said: “The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) wishes to inform the general public that all enrolment activities and other ancillary services across the federation are hereby suspended with immediate effective, till further notice.
“This decision was reached in due consideration of the rising number of infected persons in the country as stated by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and NIMC’s desire to ensure the safety of all Nigerians coming for enrolment as well as that of its staff.
“The closure is to curtail the rampaging Coronavirus pandemic by encouraging strict adherence to social distancing and observance of necessary precautions.”
The statement further explained that NIMC, like all well-meaning agencies of the federal government of Nigeria, would consider the health of Nigerians to be of paramount concern, and called on Nigerians to device various means to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic so that life could return to normalcy, to enable NIMC resume enrolment soonest.
NIMC had earlier last week, issued a statement announcing the shutting down of all its enrolment centres in five states of the federation, namely: Lagos, Ekiti, Ogun, Katsina and Anambra states.
The Commission said the move became necessary in order to prevent its staff and applicants from getting more vulnerable to the pandemic.
According to the statement, “Consequently, all enrollment activities, card collection and other identity related activities 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.”
