After series of complaints over the non-validation of their National Identification Number (NIN), residents in Ikorodu have been advised to go for validation.
A National Identification Management Commission (NIMC) agent who prefers to be anonymous since he is not authorized to speak on the issue, said that the best way to break the long period of waiting for their NIN to be validated is for the residents to go for a validation exercise directly from the website.
When informed that residents are complaining of extortion, the agent stated that it is not the agents extorting them but the NIMC placing a levy for validation.
“When you get to the site, they ask you to pay. Do I use my money to pay? Of course not, so the people would have to bear the cost for validation and I will also have to make my profit for rendering a service to them,” he said.
It was gathered that agents across Ikorodu charge between the range of 3,000 naira to 5,000 naira for the validation exercise.
Some people after registering for NIN would have to wait for months to have it validated which means that they can’t link it to their bank accounts and telecommunication network as made compulsory by the Federal Government.
“I have had some people wait for six months before they get validated.
“The problem is from NIMC, and my advice to people is that rather than waiting forever for validation, they should go for validation,” the agent noted.
Some people who have directly validated from the NIMC website still have to wait for some months before they get the validation while some people are lucky to get their validation after a few days.
A customer in one of the agents’ shops visited who identified himself as Toheeb said that it is now one month since he registered for NIN and he is yet to be validated.
“It is one month now since I have been coming here. It is the same story. He (the agent) keeps telling me to wait for validation, for how long do I have to wait?”
A lady declined to be named said she has also been on it for over a month, adding that she is tired of it all as her two SIM cards are not yet functioning as a result of not being validated.
