Abisoye Coker-Odusote, the director-general of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), says the commission will not spare any of its officials found perpetrating corrupt practices or infractions.

She said this in a statement by Ayodele Babalola, the commission’s technical adviser on media and communications, on Friday in Abuja.

Mrs Coker-Odusote charged the commission’s newly revalidated Front-End (Enrolment) Partners (FEPs) to be good ambassadors, warning that NIMC would not spare any of them found engaging in unwholesome practices.

She explained that the revalidation of the commission’s database was a management decision to sanitise its enrolment process and audit invoices inherited on outstanding debts owed to the FEPs.

“On assumption of office, we observed countless infractions and unwholesome practices in the NIN enrolment and modification services.

“Most infractions, upon investigation, were made by some of our front-end partners. I am not exonerating NIMC staff completely, but as you may be aware, I have led several sting operations to some of our offices where some staff were caught red-handed perpetrating unwholesome conduct.

“And don’t forget that I inherited huge debts owed FEPs for over two years; some of the invoices and claims were questionable, requiring proper auditing,” she said.

She added that the rot in the process and system left her with no option but to take deliberate steps towards sanitising the enrolment process.

The director-general said this informed her decision to direct that NIN enrolment activities at all FEP centres be suspended temporarily, pending the outcome of a revalidation exercise.

“My decision to direct the revalidation of all FEPs was not targeted at anyone or group.

“It was a step towards sanitising the system and processes while ensuring the integrity of data in the country’s identity database.

“It was also one of the steps towards proper auditing of the claims made by some of our FEPs,” she said.

Mrs Coker-Odusote added that the revalidation exercise was part of the steps to ensure compliance with the highest data security standards among the FEPs.

The director-general said the revalidation exercise, being implemented in phases, would not be the first or last.

She re-emphasised that NIN enrolment was free of charge in Nigeria, adding that her administration had zero tolerance for corruption.

“We shall, therefore, not spare anyone found perpetrating corrupt practices or any other form of infractions,” she warned.

She thanked President Bola Tinubu for his support and assured that FEPs with genuine claims would be paid whatever they were owed.

The statement quoted Haruna Abdu, a representative of the newly revalidated front-end partners, as saying that the revalidation process was transparent.

He urged the commission to strengthen its monitoring processes to ensure no loopholes were left for exploitation in the enrolment exercise.

(NAN)