Business

FG suspends Lagos NIN registration over crowd

Published

4 years ago

December 21, 2020

The Federal Government may have suspended the National Identity Number registration process in Lagos office of the National Identity Management Commission.

This followed the motley crowd that thronged the office of the NIMC on Monday morning, which prompted the management to shut down the office.

A source at the headquarters of the commission said the decision to put the process on hold in Lagos was because of the embarrassing crowd that came for the NIN enrolment on the first day.

The source added that the fear of COVID-19 spread played a big role in halting the [rocess in Lagos until further notice.

Hundreds of people who visited the NIMC office at Ikeja lamented that they could not be attended to.

They accused the commission of wasting their time as a result of lack of good management.

One fellow claimed to have got to the place as early at 6am said he met over 400 people already in the queue.

PREMIUM TIMES also reported an 85-year-old man, Fatai Akinbile, who was at the NIMC office to correct his date of birth, as expressing how bitter he felt with the entire process.

“I came from Ajah, left the house very early. The issue is they wrote 1953 as my date of birth instead of 1935. I have made attempts to correct it and they referred me to Ikeja,” he said

Akinbile, who claimed he did not understand the announcement that SIM cards would be blocked, said he had been on the process for long and was really fed up.

“I have someone here that offered to help me but when I got here this morning, they say we cannot enter and they are not working,” he said.

Many people said the commission shut down abruptly after distributing forms to some of them.

“They chased everybody saying if we don’t go away, they will call the police. Of a truth, the police arrived shortly,” another person who declined giving his name said.

PREMIUM TIMES said it’s reporter saw police vehicles and some police officers at the entrance of NIMC office with the commission’s doors shut and no official present.

The Federal Government had announced last week that subscribers to all networks in the country are mandated to provide their NIN, else, they would be blocked from using their SIM cards.

The government gave two weeks deadline, after which SIM cards without NIN will be blocked.

Communicating the directive, the spokesperson for the NIMC said the major telephone networks must require all their subscribers to provide their NIN.

“The submission of NIN by subscribers to take place within two weeks (from today December 16, 2020 and end by 30 December, 2020).

“After the deadline, ALL SIMs without NINs are to be blocked from the networks.

“A Ministerial Task Force comprising the Minister and all the CEOs (among others) as members is to monitor compliance by all networks. Violations of this directive will be met by stiff sanctions, including the possibility of withdrawal of operating License,” the statement said.

Despite the short notice and outrage by Nigerians, the government said there would be no extension of the deadline.

In a bid to prevent their SIM cards from being blocked, hundreds of Lagos residents on Monday stormed the NIMC office at Alausa, Ikeja.

The office, which opened officially at 8am, had numerous people waiting at the gate as early as 5am to be registered.

The commission’s office was subsequently shut down and many of the enrollees dispersed.

Related Topics:Featured Lagos office NIMC NIN

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Yuletide: Chisco deploys new luxury, mini buses, top quality services

Published

1 day ago

January 1, 2025

Trends Admin

Yuletide: Chisco deploys new luxury, mini buses, top quality services

…hails Tinubu for 50% fare rebate

Nigeria’s Transport Company of the Year, Chisco Transport Ltd, has deployed in various routes nationwide its newly procured new luxury and mini buses with the latest innovative features in the industry.

It assured the travelling public of safe and top quality services on all its routes this Christmas/New Year season, and beyond.

It stated this in a statement released on Tuesday, adding that the company, which had been one of the country’s front runners in long distance passenger transportation and logistics for over 45 years, recently inaugurated about four new branches in order to bring its services closer to its teeming customers.

It listed some of the new branches that had helped to boost service delivery this Yuletide season as in Awka, Enugu, and on Okota Road (near Cele Bus Stop on Oshodi-Apapa expressway), Lagos.

It stated, “This is in addition to embarking on a comprehensive maintenance of the existing fleet of buses in order to ensure they are in roadworthy shape for trips across Nigeria and the Lagos-Cotonou-Lome-Accra international route.

“Apart from advanced safety features like real-time GPS tracking and efficient safety systems, the new-look Chisco Transport fleet, featuring state-of-the-art buses, has all it takes to guarantee that passengers travel in style with their comfort and safety prioritised this season.”

It stated that the updated fleet had enhanced the popular Chisco 24 to 48-hour nationwide mail and parcel services.

All these, the leading transport solutions and logistics provider said, are part of deliberate efforts to ensure seamless and comfortable bus and logistic services to the customers during the 2024 Yuletide season and thereafter.

Chisco’s Head of Business Operations, Mr Buchi Ochuba, in the statement explained that the same commitment to ensuring safe and comfortable trips out of major cities and towns before Christmas, would also be deployed to return journeys in the new year.

He said that the management was aware that the huge investments the company had been making towards upscaling its services recently earned it the Transport Company of the Year at the recent Nigeria Auto Journalists Association (NAJA) Awards in Lagos.

Ochuba reiterated Chisco Transport’s resolve to sustain the high standards that earned the company an enviable reputation, as well as continue investments in safety and comfort of travellers that have earned it the confidence of the travelling public and the auto journalists’ award.

“We appreciate the fact that in adjudging Chisco Transport the Transport Company of the Year, NAJA must have taken into consideration the high standards of our services, the over 50 new air-conditioned buses we procured recently, the new branches we inaugurated, our customer reward scheme and other investments we made to enhance passenger transportation and logistics,” Ochuba stated.

According to him, everything is in place to make certain that the teeming Chisco Transport customers all over Nigeria and on the international route enjoy top quality services, adding “We wish them a wonderful Christmas and a highly prosperous 2025.”

Chisco Transport also applauded President Bola Tinubu for the gesture of subsidising inter-state luxury bus transport fares by 50 percent this Christmas season.

Drawing attention to the importance of infrastructure to the road transportation business, the statement further commended the President for the appreciable allocations for the sector in the 2025 budget.

“We, therefore, wish to urge members of his cabinet to put in more deliberate efforts to help the President attain his vision with speedy and prudent execution inspired by patriotism.”

On the current sharp increase in fares across the routes, the award-winning transport company blamed the situation on rising costs of maintaining the buses, as well as on the high pump prices of diesel and petrol.

The Head of Operations, however, added that at the peak of every Christmas season, long distance buses are almost empty during return trips, which leads to a situation whereby the fares for the first journeys are raised to cushion the losses incurred during reverse trips.

Business

Naira exchanges N1,650/$ in parallel market

Published

1 day ago

January 1, 2025

Trends Admin

Naira exchanges N1,650/$ in parallel market

Yesterday, the Naira appreciated N1,650 per dollar in the parallel market, compared to N1,655 on Monday.

Similarly, the Naira appreciated to N1,535 per dollar in the official foreign exchange market.

Business

Exchange rate ends 2024 at N1,535/$1, marking a 40.9% depreciation

Published

2 days ago

December 31, 2024

Trends Admin

Exchange rate ends 2024 at N1,535/$1, marking a 40.9% depreciation

The exchange rate between the naira and the dollar ended the year at N1,535/$1 representing a 40.9% depreciation for 2024.

The official exchange rate between the naira and dollar closed in 2023 at N907.11/$1 thus depreciating by 40.9% for the year which compares to a 49.1% devaluation at the end of 2023.