National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has warned Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations (UTME) candidates for 2020 to be wary of fraudsters while obtaining their National Identity Number (NIN).
The commission, which gave the warning in Abuja, stressed that candidates are not supposed to pay any fee to obtain the NIN.
The Federal Government, through the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), has made the NIN compulsory for all candidates planning to write next year’s UTME.
The commission said no worker should ask for money to register the UTME candidates as the registration and issuance of the NIN and ID cards are free.
The commission’s General Manager for Information Technology and Identity Database, Mr Chuks Onyepunuka, gave the warning at a symposium organised by the Computer-Based Test Centres Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria for examination bodies in the country.
The manager said the NIN would help the board to also checkmate infractions.
He said: “It is not only JAMB that we are collaborating with; we are partnering with the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) for the renewal and issuance of passports. So, for JAMB, they are focusing on the examination. They recognise that NIMC has the strength to manage the identity of the candidates. They don’t want to bother themselves in the areas they do not have strength.”
“Their strength is to organise the examination. With the NIN, you cannot beat the system. Candidates cannot change the biometrics.”
