Benjamin Babine, Abuja
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved Draft National Policy on Digital Identity for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) presented by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami.
The FEC who approved this on Wednesday also approved the Minister’s request for the construction of a Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centre. The Minister said that both memos will support in the implementation of the National Digital Economy Policy.
In a statement, the Ministry said: “Digital identity is a key requirement for the development of a sustainable digital economy and it is necessary to ensure that every strata of society is able to conveniently obtain Digital IDs, including the IDPs. The Policy seeks to integrate IDPs, regardless of challenges that they face, such as lack of documentation and vulnerability.
“The Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) shows that millions of citizens fall under the IDP category. IDPs are spread across the 36 States of the Federation and the FCT. Borno State has the highest number of IDPs while Ondo State has the lowest number at over 1.49 million and over 1,000 people respectively.
“A Digital ID will enable the IDPs access public, private and humanitarian services and it will also improve internal security. The Policy on Digital Identity for IDPs will be supervised by the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy and implemented by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).”