The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC)has said it has a target to register 50 million Nigerians into the National Identification Number (NIN) system by the end of 2018.
The National Identity Management programme underway in Nigeria involves gathering of personal biometric information of Nigerians and residents in the country.
Engr. Aliyu A. Aziz, who heads NIMC, the Federal Government agency responsible for National ID management says enrolment figure stood at only 14 million in 2016, which the commission had promised to double in 2017.
According to him over 28 million people have been enrolled by NIMC, and have a target of enrolling additional 50 million Nigerians and legal residents by December, 2018.
According to him, the remarkable achievement could not have been possible, ”but for the dedication, commitment and sacrifices made by members of staff of the Commission on the one hand and the unalloyed support of government at all levels despite the economic meltdown recently witnessed in the country.”
He also acknowledged the push for the mandatory use of the NIN from stakeholders and partners of the Commission in the private and public sectors, especially members of the Harmonization Committee set up by the Federal Government and charged with harmonizing all identification data.
“Indeed, their commitment towards the harmonization process contributed to the growth of the database, as well as increase in the general public’s awareness about the NIN and its benefits,” Engr. Aziz said.
The Harmonization Committee is made up of the about 23 Federal Government Agencies who are stakeholders in the identity sector.
Explaining that the NIN bequeaths citizens with a lot of privileges and benefits, the Engr Aziz listed some benefits to include one-person-one-identity, ability to verify and authenticate individual’s identity, access to services, claims and entitlement and benefit from government social interventions.
Urging Nigerians to take advantage of the over 900 enrolment centres across the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory to enrol for the NIN, the NIMC DG said the Commission is set to commence enforcement of the mandatory use of the NIN for all identity based transactions in the country as enshrined in the NIMC Act No 23 of 2007.
The DG also stated that the Commission had recently gazetted and published supplementary regulations which consist of the set of principles, practices, policies, processes and procedures that would be utilized to achieve the desired objective of enforcing the NIN.
He also called on Nigerians to be patient as the Commission is working tirelessly to ensure that all Nigerians get their National Identity Cards. He further thanked the general public for their feedback which has helped improve the service of the Commission.
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