Nigerian digital ID firm says federal govt partly responsible for $100M loss

A Nigerian digital ID solutions company, Chams Plc., which has provided different services to the country’s federal government in the past couple of years, says it has incurred around $100 million in debts due to business bottlenecks with the government.

The Chairman of the business group, Demola Aladekomo, made this claim recently during a meeting with capital market shareholders in which he explained that there were changing their business vision as a result, Punch reports.

Aladekomo told the shareholders that after delivering various technological services to government institutions such as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Chams Plc. got involved in the national ID project “from where we lost about 100 million dollars due to the government irresponsibility.”

“The government made life impossible for the company, leading to a $100m loss. We came to the exchange and told them what was happening.  That created a lot of issues for us. We practically lost all the money you gave us at that point in time. We have avoided anything to do with the government apart from our regulators,” the official is quoted by Punch as saying.

Aladekomo said following the huge loss, the company has taken steps to stabilize its operations and undertake new business engagements, noting that they now deal in consumer products and look forward to serving the Nigerian and African market.

Mayowa Olaniyan, group managing director of Chams, who also spoke during the shareholders meeting, noted the strong financial performance of the company and their plan to continue on an innovative growth trajectory.

Earlier allegations denied by NIMC

Punch recalls that the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), had in 2015, denied allegations made by Chams Plc Group Chairman that the ID-issuing authority was responsible for the company’s business woes at the time.

The NIMC’s reaction followed accusations by Aladekomo which it termed as “provocative and disrespectful.”

The new claim by Cham comes a month after a licensed partner of the NIMC also claimed a backlog of unpaid debts for digital ID services rendered.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  Chams Plc  |  digital ID  |  government purchasing  |  National Identity Management Commission (NIMC)  |  Nigeria