NIDCOM replies NCC: Pantami gave us one week notice but we were ejected within two days

The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) says its offices at the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) were broken into and items carted away.

NIDCOM said this in response to a statement by the NCC.

NCC had said NIDCOM was not sent packing from its annex office in the federal capital territory (FCT) and that all its property were kept in a warehouse.

Earlier, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, NIDCOM chairperson, had alleged that her staff were sent out of the NCC complex by armed men on the orders of Isa Pantami, minister of communications and digital economy.

In a statement on Sunday, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, NIDCOM’s head of media and public relations, said the commission was given a week to move out of the complex but two days into the ultimatum, they were denied access to the building.

“Unfortunately, on Friday 14th February after the chairman returned from Ethiopia a day before, she visited the complex to shockingly find that offices were broken into and all items including the 140 workstations, personal computers, printers, sensitive documents and personal belongings of staff were carted away. The call centre was locked up,” Balogun said.

While listing files, computers, chairs as some of the items that were carted away, the head of public relations said an agency of government “ought not to be shabbily treated in a dehumanising manner.”

Balogun said the minister should have allowed staff of NIDCOM evacuate their belongings instead of the alleged break-in into their offices.

“The commission still has no access to all equipment, furniture and other items carted away on the instructions of the minister,” he said.

“The commission has since moved on, and put the ugly incident behind it as it looks forward to settling into any available office space after the COVID-19 lockdown.”