The House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions has opted for alternative dispute resolution on the dispute between the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and a private technology company, Truid Limited over payment for services.
Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions, Hon Mike Etaba said the matter has been stepped down so as to explore the alternative dispute resolution route.
He said: “For now, that matter has been stepped down! We are now taking that case on an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) route. That’s where the matter is now,” he said, adding, “the Committee is silent on it (the matter) until they give us the report of the ADR. That is when we will know what to do next.”
Asked when the ADR resolution he mentioned is meant to be concluded, Hon Etaba stated: “I can’t say for now how and when the ADR will come up. That’s the situation for now.”
A source in NIMC also confirmed that the matter is now pending before ADR, adding that it is not a big deal.
Recall the House of Representatives had threatened to order the arrest of NIMC DG, Mrs. Bisoye Coker-Odusote for failure to appear before it to explain why the agency refused to pay for a state-of-the-art software development project executed by Truid Limited for NIMC.
Hon Etaba, who was angered by the failure to appear before the committee to personally to explain the matter after repeated invitations, warned that the Inspector-General of Police, may be ordered to arrest the DG if she refused to appear before the committee at its next hearing, which was fixed for March 13, 2025.
During its sitting of February 11, 2025 the House Committee said it would actualise the threat if she failed to come in person to explain her refusal to pay for the project.
Hon Etaba had frowned at the continuous absence of the NIMC boss despite several invitations.
In a statement by the Media Head, Public Petitions Committee of the House of Representatives, Chooks Oko, the Chairman of the Committee had stated: “If she fails to show up at the next hearing of this case, we’ll have no option than to ask the Inspector-General of Police to bring her.
“How can an official of government treat constituted authority with such levity? We can no longer condone such an attitude.”
NAN had reported that the project was installed and deployed to the commission by Truid Limited, which was alleging a breach of licence agreement by NIMC.
The statement added that the private company, which executed the software development project, is alleging a breach of licence agreement by NIMC, noting that E. R. Opara, counsel to Truid Limited, stated that the contract is premised on an arrangement whereby Truid Limited funded, developed and deployed the “tokenization system project” without any financial obligation from NIMC.
According to Opara, the agreement is premised on an arrangement that the project would be funded by the firm.
“Truid Ltd was to get returns on her investment through patronage of service providers and the proceeds shared on an agreed ratio. This was to run for an initial period of 10 years, from 2021 when the software was deployed,” Opara said.
