There was palpable gloom on faces of staff at Asaba, Delta state as the management of National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) made good its threat to sack 4, 000 of its workforce nationwide, as it disengaged over 83 junior workers before the Muslim Eid-el-Fitri break.
The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) was established in 2007 to foster the orderly development of an identity sector in Nigeria through the development of a modern and universally acceptable identity management infrastructure.
Last week, the staff whose salary grade levels are between three to six got their sack letters even as they prepare to travel for the Eid holidays.
The development threw the entire staff of the agency into mourning as some wailed while others wore long faces.
Some of the workers told journalists present that the letters came as a surprise to them, claiming that they thought that the issue would remain a proposal or rumour.
“We heard that they were planning to retrench some of us but we thought it was still being proposed.
“Besides, we are aware that our colleagues at the headquarters in Abuja, had put up a protest against the proposal and were working hard to stop it,” one of the sacked workers who pleaded anonymity, said.
He described the sacking of workers by the company’s management as “callous”, saying that it was carried out at a time when families were preparing to pay school fees for their children.
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek gathered that sack letters were sent from Abuja to Asaba early in the week but were not distributed to the affected staff until last Thursday due to logistical difficulties.
There had been indication NIMC would disengage more than 4,000 workers nationwide, citing “redundancy” as the reason for the downsizing exercise.
The 83 from Delta state are just a fraction of the total number that would eventually find their way out the company.
The NIMC is also empowered to manage, regulate and enforce an effective and secure Identity Assurance System that would facilitate the harmonization and integration of identity databases in government agencies, ensure sustainability, reliability and acceptance across diverse points and contexts and application of the verification and authentication services within and outside the country.