The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), says it is committed to creating, managing, operating and maintaining a secured National Identity database by issuing National Identification Number (NIN) to all Nigerians and legal residents.
Mr. Aliyu Aziz, NIMC Director-General, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Abuja.
Aziz said the commission is on the right track to ensure that Nigerians and legal residents have digital identities in fulfillment of its mandate.
“When I assumed office in 2015 enrollment was at 7 million, and as at today NIMC has about 35 million record in its database,’’ he said.
He attributed the success to the NIMC gazette regulations of 2017, which makes NIN mandatory for accessing services like international passport, insurance, pension among others.
“Another factor is the harmonization of data with Bank Verification Number (BVN), SIM card registration, voters’ registration, and drivers’ license among other,’’ he said.
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He also said that the ongoing Diaspora enrollment is another factor that has contributed to the success of NIMC.
“Competent Nigerian Companies, who are in the businesses of providing similar services by themselves or in partnership with other competent companies in Diaspora jurisdictions are licensed to enroll Nigerians living outside the country to prevent them from being disenfranchised,” he said.
According to Aziz, NIMC is currently working with World Bank, Agence Française de Dévelopement (AFD) and European Union (EU) on a strategic roadmap.
This he said would enable the commission to work in partnership with other data collecting government agencies with a view to having a single database.
“The approach termed -the ecosystem will allow NIMC license competent and qualified public and private sector service providers to carry out enrollment and issue NIN to Nigerians and legal residents.
“Approval was gotten in September 2018 from the Federal Executive Council and NIMC is in the process of implementation, already we have advertised expression of interest on national dailies on our website,” he said.(NAN)
