Benjamin Babine, Abuja
The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Pantami, has charged the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to increase the monthly National Identification Number (NIN) enrollment from 500,000 to 2.5 million.
The Minister gave the charge when he received a briefing from the management team of the NIMC on their activities following the final transfer of the supervision of the Commission to the Ministry.
Dr Pantami, calling for a 500 per cent increase, commended the Director-General of NIMC, Engr Aliyu A Aziz, for his commitment and passion, noting that there has been a considerable increase in enrolments since he became the Chief Executive Officer of NIMC.
However, he stated that there is still a need to raise the bar even higher by ensuring that the enrolment rate is 5 times the current rate. He said this is imperative because the NIN will soon be made mandatory for accessing government services and interventions.
The Minister used the opportunity of the meeting to discuss the challenges fighting against the success of NIMC’s activities, including the challenge of inadequate funds. He assured the NIMC team that he will do all he can to address these challenges.
He also stated that he will continue to meet with NIMC regularly until he is certain the performance of the Commission is enhanced significantly and efficient services are offered to Nigerians.
Meanwhile, the Minister also stated that he is committed to ensuring that citizens easily obtain secure digital identity and urged them to enroll as soon as possible.
A statement signed by the Spokesperson to the Minister, Mrs Uwa Suleiman, reads: ‘He directed the Director-General of NIMC to set up complaint units in all the Commission’s Centres in order to ensure that the complaints of the citizens are promptly addressed.
‘He also directed the Commission to interface more with citizens and to also run awareness campaigns on all media channels and in Nigerian languages to encourage citizens to obtain their digital identity.
‘Digital Identity is one of the key requirements of any digital economy and it is captured under Pillar #6 of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) for a Digital Nigeria.
‘The Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy is committed to supporting NIMC to ensure that Nigerians derive the benefits of a functional digital identity system. Nigerians are encouraged to visit NIMC accredited centres soon for their digital identity.’
