Scores of Lagos residents in Alimosho LGA have expressed worry over several fruitless attempts to register and obtain the National Identity Numbers (NIN) from the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).

The NIMC office in Ikotun was besieged by hundreds of residents waiting hours for their national identity registration.

Many claimed they got to the office as early as 6:00 a.m. to queue. 

They had their names recorded in a list and were given numbers.

Adekunle Adewole, one of the residents, said he arrived as early as 6:00 a.m. to enable him to get a number, saying it was his third attempt to be registered, to no avail.

“This is my third attempt at this registration. The last time I came, I was asked to come back on April 2 and to ensure they attended to me, I came here about 6:10 a.m., only to notice that the whole place was already filled with people,’’ he said.

Mr Adewole said he got to number 55 and prayed it would get to his turn before the close of work, appealing to the government to provide more working devices for the officials to attend to many Nigerians who want to obtain the NIN cards.

Mr Adewole, however, expressed disappointment at the attitude of the NIMC staff. 

“When they resumed, they discarded the list of names, claiming that they had lost it and had to start the process of name writing all over again.”

A 65-year-old grandmother, Abibat Adekanbi, corroborated Mr Adewole’s account, adding that people were exposed to undue suffering when registering for NIN.

Omolola Bello stated that she had been coming to the office for registration since 2023 without success. She said the government should look into the challenges affecting the agency’s operations to make the exercise seamless.

An official of NIMC, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they would only attend to those booked since February 19.

“We are attending to those we are supposed to have registered on Good Friday, being March 29, but unable to do so due to the public holiday. It is very challenging that we keep recording huge number of applicants every day, yet we do not have too many hands and equipment, all we promise is to keep pushing while appealing for patience from the applicants,” she said.

She also complained of the activities of touts, who she claimed had infiltrated the place as agents to exploit applicants. 

She noted that no NIMC official had the backing of the management to collect between N5,000 and N10,000 to fast-track the process for some applicants, while those without such an amount waited helplessly for their turn.

(NAN)