NIN Agents Protest Unpaid Commissions, Loan Recoveries, Seek FG Intervention
•By OYENIYI AWOJOODU
IBADAN — OVER 300 independent National Identification Number (NIN) enrolment agents have decried alleged unpaid commissions, forceful loan recoveries, and contractual breaches by key players in Nigeria’s identity management ecosystem, calling for urgent federal government intervention.
The aggrieved agents, who addressed journalists at the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Press Centre in Iyaganku, Ibadan, said their livelihoods have been severely affected since their engagement in 2021 for the nationwide identity registration drive.
According to the group, they were recruited through File Solutions Limited, an accredited Frontend Enrolment Partner (FEP) of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), under an agreement that guaranteed a commission of $1 per successful enrolment.
To fund their operations, the agents disclosed that they obtained loans exceeding N4.1 million each under the AGSMEIS scheme from NIRSAL Microfinance Bank. The loans, they said, were to be repaid through deductions from their monthly commissions.
However, the agents alleged that after initial commission payments in April and May 2021, subsequent payments were halted for several months, plunging them into financial distress. Although arrears for 2021 were reportedly settled in March 2022, they claimed that commissions from January 2022 to date remain largely unpaid despite NIMC meeting its enrolment targets.
They further accused the microfinance bank of deploying aggressive loan recovery measures through the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Global Standing Instruction (GSI) framework. This, they said, resulted in indiscriminate deductions from their personal accounts, as well as accounts belonging to relatives and associates.
The agents said the recoveries have triggered severe consequences, including financial hardship, family disputes, and health challenges.
Tensions, they added, worsened in October 2023 when NIMC allegedly withdrew their licences following a revalidation exercise. The agents argued that the licences, procured using the loan facilities were revoked before the expiration of their five-year contractual agreement, effectively shutting down their operations.
They also lamented that enrolment devices purchased under the loan arrangement became obsolete after NIMC introduced a new Android-based system, leaving them without means of generating income to repay the loans.
The agents recalled that during a mediation session facilitated by Brekete Family TV in March 2024, assurances were given that outstanding payments would be cleared. However, they said little progress has been made since then.
Although partial payments were reportedly made following public outcry in late 2024, the agents argued that the sums were inadequate and calculated using outdated exchange rates, worsening their financial burden.
Efforts to renegotiate loan terms with NIRSAL Microfinance Bank, including a meeting held in August 2025, have also failed to yield concrete results, the group said, adding that requests for access to their bank statements have not been granted.
The agents are now urging the Central Bank of Nigeria and other relevant authorities to intervene.
Their demands include the immediate suspension of GSI-linked recoveries, the convening of a stakeholders’ meeting involving all parties, removal of liens on their Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs), and the cancellation or conversion of the loans into grants.
They maintained that the situation runs contrary to the objectives of the AGSMEIS scheme, which is intended to support small and medium enterprises rather than expose them to financial distress.
“We appeal to the conscience of all stakeholders and the Federal Government to ensure a fair and lasting resolution,” the group stated.