24th September, 2012
Nnamdi Felix / Abuja
The recently disengaged former employees of the National Identity Management Commission, NIMC, who allegedly lost their employment due to redundancy on Monday protested their sack from the organization and called for the sack of the Director General of the commission for his “Ignorance of identity database management”.
The protesting staff who were formerly on Grade level’s 1- 6 under the civil service rules, made the call for the replacement of the Director General of the establishment, Mr. Chris Onyemenam, during a press briefing at the Abuja council of the NUJ before proceeding to the National Assembly where they plan to submit a protest letter to the legislators.
Brandishing some documents purporting to be copies of their appointment letters issued to them by the identity management commission, the protesters claimed that they were employed in 2002 and 2003 respectively, by the Federal Ministry of Internal Affairs, under the department of national civic registration, before their services were transferred, under the federal civil service rule, to the commission when it was created in 2007.
They also claimed that, following the discussions for conditions of service transfer, that some of them were issued with appointment letters under the NIMC Act No. 23, 2007 on grade level’s 04\7 in November 2009, only for them to be served with redundancy notices and subsequently were laid off, for allegedly lacking a Degree or HND qualifications.
The commission recently disengaged more than 4,029 junior staff members for redundancy but the ousted former staff members claim they were sacked without their full benefits in violation to civil service rules. They also claimed that the management had gone to the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity to declare them redundant before relieving them of their jobs.