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Picketing of NIMC: Management Debunks ASCSN’s Allegations
On Tuesday May 12, 2015, the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, ASCSN, made good its threat, widely published in the newspapers recently, to picket the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) over claims that Management planned to ‘sack over 1,000 staff’ who are members of the ASCSN, which NIMC management on Thursday debunked.
They further alleged impunity on the side of Management, claimed that the NIMC under the leadership of Chris ‘E Onyemenam, the director general, whom the Union wanted sacked by the Government, had not delivered on the mandate of the NIMC, in particular, the issuance of national eID Cards.
They further alleged financial misconduct, corruption and unfair labour practices.
During the picketing action, the ASCSN prevented staff members of the NIMC who are members of the Senior Staff Association of Communications, Transportation and Corporations, SSACTAC, from entering the office in Lagos, Minna and our Head Office here in Abuja. Picketing does not mean locking out staff members by another Union whose members have a criminal case to answer.
But a statement sent to Nigeria CommunicationsWeek by the management of NIMC read: “These allegations and claims are false and an unfortunate misrepresentation of facts. They are malicious and calculated to discredit the Board, Top Management and the person of the DG over the handling of disciplinary cases of staff members found to have falsified their service records. The current actions and utterances of the representatives of ASCSN, which signed an agreement with the Management of NIMC in 2012 over this issue is unfortunate and suspicious.
“It is not true that Management plans to declare redundancy or undertake any retrenchment. Rather, Management had administratively dealt with cases of falsification of service records by some senior members of staff.
“Due process was followed, including the proper convening and seating of a Disciplinary Committee with all Observer Status Offices duly represented, obeying all Court Orders regarding the administrative process since July 2014, responding to requests for explanations and clarifications, etc. from supervisory and other appropriate authorities of Government.
“Management has not behaved with impunity nor did it disobey any Court Orders. All due processes were followed and appropriate approvals obtained as necessary by NIMC Management in the discharge of its duties.
“Management has ensured that all Annual Accounts of the NIMC are audited and approved by the Board before submission to the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation as required by law. It is also published on our website as part of an annual report on the NIMC for each year. The 2014 Accounts that has just been approved by the Board will be published shortly.
“Management can confirm that the National Identity Management System (NIMS) has been in operation since February 23, 2012 with about 404 Enrolment Centres nationwide. The NIMS went live on a Pilot basis in 2012 and NIMC is currently focusing on a large scal deployment through various ways including harmonization and integration of other ongoing data gathering activties across MDAs and in the private sector”.
The statement also clarified that the NIMS infrastructure was first certified as ISO 27001:2005 compliant in 2014 and was recertified as ISO 27001:2013 compliant in April 2015.
The Card Personalization Infrastructure was audited and certified under the Global Vendors Certification Programme (GVCP) in 2014 and has just been audited for recertification a week ago.
“It is unfortunate that on a day the National eID Card is being internationally recognized as the ‘Best African Payment Initiative in 2014, it is being disparaged at home. The National eID Card is currently being distributed across the Federation from our State Offices. It is regrettable that some members of staff with questionable service records who have been slowing down the pace of the implementation of the NIMS are now bent on disrupting the smooth arrangement put in place for citizens to enrol and subsequently come to collect their eID Cards at their convenience and upon notification.
“Furthermore, it is not true that NIMC has planned to sack or retrench 1,000 workers. However 406 senior members of staff who falsified their service records and thus have been profiting from that fraud, have been formally reported to the appropriate offices for further action”.
According to the NIMC management, the issues at stake are as follows: falsification of Service Records to wit; fake appointment letters; fake promotion letters; fake conversion/advancement letters;
Did NIMC provide opportunity for fair hearing to the parties involved?
The statement read, “Yes we did, to wit- verification of staff service records; issuance of query to affected staff; analyses of response to query and verification of documents attached to response; invitation to attend a duly constituted Disciplinary Committee Meeting; obtaining necessary approvals for the recommendations of the Committee; implementation of the approvals – proper placement for those exculpated and issuance of dismissal letters for those found culpable in line with the Public Service Rules”.
They added that “Formal Report to appropriate authorities in respect of the criminal acts, for further action.
“Accordingly the action embarked upon by the ASCSN is an attempt to take attention away from the facts and issues as stated above.
“In respect of other allegations, we wish to state that NO staff member who is qualified and applied was denied the right to go on annual leave. It is also not true that female staff are discouraged from getting pregnant, it is in fact unthinkable. We have always followed due process in all our recruitment exercise.
“For the avoidance of doubt, Management has remained focused on implementing the NIMS, in particular, the Federal Executive Council approval in September 2011,” the statement read in part.
News
Detained Binance executive drags EFCC, NSA to court
Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan has has dragged the National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu and the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), to court alleging violations of his fundamental rights.
In a filing dated March 18 and presented by his lawyer Olujoke Aliyu from Aluko and Oyebode Law Firm, Gambaryan sought redress before Justice Inyang Ekwo, requesting five reliefs. Similarly, Nadeem Anjarwalla, Binance’s Africa regional manager who escaped custody on March 22, initiated a separate suit before Justice Ekwo.
Gambaryan and Anjarwalla, in the suits marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/356/24 and FHC/ABJ/CS/355/24, had sued the Office of NSA (ONSA) and EFCC as 1st and 2nd respondents.
Gambaryan, a US citizen overseeing financial crime compliance at the crypto exchange platform, alleged that his detention and the confiscation of his international travel passport violated Section 35 (1) and (4) of the 1999 Constitution, constituting a breach of his fundamental right to personal liberty. He further requested the court to order his immediate release and the return of his passport. Additionally, he sought an injunction preventing further detention related to any Binance investigations and demanded a public apology from the respondents, along with costs incurred.
Gambaryan stated that he visited Nigeria on February 26 alongside Nadeem Anjarwalla, representing Binance, in response to invitations from ONSA and EFCC. Despite attending the meeting as requested, both were detained afterward without formal charges.
During the court proceedings, T.J. Krukrubo, SAN, representing Anjarwalla and Gambaryan, informed the court of the respondents’ absence despite being served. Krukrubo also mentioned their notice of withdrawal of legal representation for Anjarwalla, filed on March 26.
Justice Ekwo noted the withdrawal of legal representation and adjourned the matter to April 8 to allow the applicants to seek new representation and give the respondents an opportunity to appear.
In Gambaryan’s case, Krukrubo stated that although the processes were served on ONSA and EFCC, they still had time to respond. He requested an adjournment, indicating that the respondents’ deadline to file their applications would expire the following week.
Consequently, Justice Ekwo scheduled the next hearing for April 8 to continue proceedings.
News
AXA Mansard Empowers Female SMEs with Financial, Digital Skills
AXA Mansard, a member of AXA has empowered 200 female Small and Medium Enterprises with financial literacy and digital business skills.
In collaboration with SME 100 Africa, the two-day training, which was held in Lagos, is part of AXA’s lined-up programmes to commemorate this year’s International Women’s Day.
Speaking, Olusesan Ogunyooye, Head of Marketing AXA Mansard, said the training was aimed to empower female SME owners with skills to improve business output and position them for the increasing economic opportunities available in an increasingly digital marketplace.
Ogunyooye noted that the move was in line with AXA Mansard’s sustainability agenda, explaining that the company was convinced that support for women through its inclusive protection programmes was pivotal to its purpose of acting for human progress by protecting what matters and its mission of moving from being a payer to a partner.
He further said that focusing on digital skills was important because the company realised the importance of digital skills to the growth of the SME sector in Nigeria and wants to ensure that women were empowered enough to be a consequential part of that growth.
“It’s almost trite to say that SMEs are the engine for economic growth, especially in developing countries like Nigeria, where over 45 million adults are business owners. What needs to be continually discussed is how Nigeria is going to unlock that potential for economic development and how much of that potential will be unlocked by women and for women.”
“For us at AXA Mansard, we are aware that digital will play a major role in unlocking these current opportunities and Nigeria’s economic future. So, to ensure that women are equally represented in unlocking these future potentials, that’s why we have collaborated with SME 100 Africa to support them in developing the required skills”.
“Our choice of digital and financial literacy skills is deliberate. We understand the power of the duo. We understand that helping these SMEs with the skills to attract more customers will be a faster means to empower them.
“We see that they have amazing products and services, but they need to understand how to attract value for themselves by attracting the right customers, and you will agree with me that virtually all customer segments are online in one way or another today.
“So, if we can empower them with digital business skills, we would have helped them with the heavy lifting of trying to find and attract customers”. Ogunyooye explained.
According to him, AXA Mansard believes that for the world to experience progress truly, there must be an equitable distribution of creation and access to opportunities for men and women. This quest for balance informed the SHE for Shield initiative, a women-centred inclusive protection programme of AXA Mansard.
SHE for Shield is a group of initiatives designed for the Nigerian woman. The goal is to see them grow, add value, and help them mitigate risks at every step.
According to the company, research has found that access to health care is one of the most important things to Nigerian women, regardless of their economic segment. They desire to be financially independent, secure, and respected in the community.
News
IFC Invests in New 4DX Ventures Fund to Support Tech Startups in Africa
IFC is investing $10.5 million in a new fund by 4DX Ventures, a New York-based venture capital firm focused on supporting early-stage African technology companies across a broad set of sectors, including fintech, e-commerce, edtech, climate tech, and health tech.
IFC’s investment in 4DX Ventures Fund III will come from IFC’s $225 million venture capital platform, which was launched last year to strengthen emerging VC ecosystems and invest in early-stage companies in Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and Pakistan.
Africa is among the regions least served by venture capital, receiving just 2% of global venture deal volume in the third quarter of 2023. Access to capital on the continent has been further exacerbated by a slowdown in global venture capital investment.
Tech ecosystems are nascent, or even nonexistent, outside of more established markets such as Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, and South Africa.
“IFC and 4DX Ventures share the commitment to supporting tech entrepreneurs with innovations that will help Africa leapfrog in critical areas such as climate, health care, fintech, e-commerce, and education,” said Walter Baddoo, Co-Founder and General Partner of 4DX Ventures.
“We look forward to partnering with IFC to help promising tech startups build transformative businesses and realize sustainable development impact on the continent.”
4DX’s new fund will invest in companies with tech solutions that can improve productivity, efficiency and competitiveness across Africa. The firm’s first two funds invested in companies such as Egypt-based e-commerce platform MaxAB, an IFC portfolio company; Ghana-based health tech firm mPharma; and Kenya-based B2B e-commerce platform Wasoko, formerly known as Sokowatch.
“By supporting the development of tech ecosystems in emerging markets, IFC’s venture capital platform aims to improve access to key services, boost business competitiveness, and promote job creation through digital transformation,” said Mohamed Gouled, Vice President of Industries at IFC.
“Our investment in venture funds such as 4DX Ventures will help African entrepreneurs access more financing and resources they need to scale tech innovations and bolster sustainable growth across the continent.
In addition to providing capital, IFC will work with 4DX Ventures to implement their environmental and social management system.
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