President Muhammadu Buhari has said about 50million Nigerians will get their unique National Identification Numbers [NINs] before the end of December.
President Buhari, who disclosed this Tuesday in Abuja during the opening ceremony of a 3-day ID4Africa forum being hosted by Nigeria, added that by 2019 over 70m Nigerians and legal residents would have been added to the identity database in custody of the National Identity Management Commission [NIMC].
‘’Through the process of Harmonization of Identity Schemes, in Nigeria, the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) grew the database from seven (7) million to fourteen (14) million by 2016 and from fourteen (14) million to twenty eight (28) million in 2017.
‘’Our target is to grow the database to Fifty (50) Million by December 2018 and subsequently Seventy (70) Million by December 2019’’, the President who was represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation [SGF], Mr Boss Gida Mustapha, said.
The Federal Government of Nigeria, he said, has long recognized the need to have a single national identity system for all citizens in order to carry out its mandate in social and economic development, law enforcement, intelligence and political development.
He said his government is extremely aware of the importance of gravitating towards e-Governance as it helps greatly in service delivery.
Quoting a World Bank Group 2017 report, President Buhari said with increased access to identification over 38 million Africans could open their first bank accounts upon receiving proper documentation.
‘’A total value of $800 million in social safety net programs will benefit the citizenry from improved targeting and management. 4.4 million refugees and stateless persons in Sub Saharan Africa could also have access to better protection and humanitarian assistance’’, he quoted the report as saying.
He said digital identity can transform the efficiency of safety nets with electronic cash transfers; track immunization of children and delivery of health care to citizens; issue driver’s licenses linked to a digital identity registry and track border control and issue passports linked to a digital identity registry.
He said as part of the government’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, it plans to deliver key services, including safety nets, agriculture development, food security, energy, transport and enterprise development, while strengthening the macro fiscal environment, investing in people, and developing a local digital economy.
In this regard, he said Nigeria is convinced that for businesses and innovation to thrive in Africa, a digital strategy to develop global reputation for technological leadership and business dynamism is essential.
‘’This entails building digital ecosystems; Investing in smart infrastructure, platforms, and services; identifying and nurturing digital talents; digitizing our records and classifying them accordingly; as well as reviewing and upgrading the legal and regulatory framework’’, he said.
He said Nigeria, and by extension Africa, must leverage on its digital identity as a reliable tool for socio economic development.
He said the importance of the confidentiality of data inherent in the identity management system cannot be over – emphasized and urged NIMC to ensure absolute integrity and security of information provided by enrolees.
‘’As a nation of over 180 million people, it is important that we develop an integrated and connected system to ascertain that an individual is truly who he claims to be.
in Africa’’, he added.
Earlier in his welcome address, the chairman of NIMC board, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola said the commission has renewed its determination to leverage on the enormous opportunities with private sector to make the identity management in the country a success story.
The highlight of the opening ceremony was the launch of a petition to the United Nations, calling for September 16 to be recognised as International Identity Day.
The Executive Chairman of ID4Africa, Dr Joseph Atick, who launched the petition, said setting aside a day for identity would go along away in giving all the citizens of the world unique identity by 2030.
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