Pantami formally presents new conditions of service and improved salary scale to NIMC board
By Ibiyemi Mathew
Minister of Communications and Digital economy,Dr Isa Ali Pantami has formally presented the new conditions of service and improved salary scale to the board and management of the National Identity Management Commission(NIMC).
At an event held at the International Conference Centre yesterday in Abuja, the new conditions were presented having been approved by the Federal Executive Council.
In a press statement issued by Mrs Uwa Suleiman, Spokesperson to the Minister of Communications and Digital economy, “the presentation which was made by the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami) today, Thursday 2nd September 2021, marks the end of a ten-year battle to turn the fortunes of the Commission around.”
Recall that President Muhammadu Buhari transferred the supervision of the Commission to the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, under Professor Pantami’s purview in October 2020.
Acting Chairman of NIMC Governing Board, Mallam Bello Ibrahim Gwandu in his remarks at the ceremony, disclosed that “since 2010 we have been galvanizing efforts to ensure a positive change in the fortunes of NIMC’s workforce, but each time we take one successful step forward, there appears to be multiple gridlocks impeding our pace. All of these changed for the better upon the assumption of Professor Pantami as the supervisory Minister of NIMC. Evidence abounds of his persistent push and resilient resolve to accelerate us to this remarkable phase. We couldn’t have asked for a better Minister,” he emphasized.
Director General of NIMC Engr Aliyu Abdullaziz, while expressing the profound gratitude of the Commission in particular and the sector in general, noted that “Professor Pantami has achieved in less than a year, what previous administrations tried unsuccessfully to achieve in over a decade.”
In his address, the Honourable Minister while thanking President Muhammadu Buhari for the support enjoyed by the sector, remarked that the previous unsuccessful attempts, though strong-willed, had resulted in disenchantment amongst the Commission’s workforce and loss of competent and highly skilled personnel to other organizations within and outside the country.
The new Condition of Service and Salary Scale increases with over 200% the total NIMC personnel cost, a significant depature from what is currently obtainable.
Pantami therefore urged the board and management of the Commission to ensure the funds are judiciously used for the purposes intended. In the same vein, he urged the members of staff to justify the gesture of the federal government.
