The Nation Newspaper

Tag: biometrics

  • Biometrics compulsory for UTME candidates, says JAMB

    The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has said any candidate that cannot be identified through biometrics will be barred from writing the ongoing Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

    The board’s Head, Media and Information Department, Dr Fabian Benjamin, spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Lagos.

    Benjamin spoke against the backdrop of some reported cases in some centres where some candidates could not be identified through JAMB’s electronic system to gain access into exam halls.

    The 2018 UTME which commenced on Friday, March 9, in 605 centres nationwide, ends on March 17.

    “We want to clearly state here that any candidate who cannot be identified using biometrics will not be allowed to sit for this examination.

    “So far, over 450,000 candidates have sat for the examination and we have had reported cases where some of the candidates cannot be identified as they place their fingers on the machines for identification.

    “Candidates sitting for this examination are not to be identified by mere registration numbers or names, but through the machines.

    “We know that at the point of registration for this examination, candidates details are captured with live photographs as well as their fingerprints.

    “So while going for the examination, it is only expected that candidates should be screened and identified using biometrics.

    “This method should be able to call up candidates identity and so, there is no way a candidate will just come and mention his name and registration number and be allowed in without going through the right process,” he told NAN.

    Benjamin said the measure was to ensure the eligibility of candidates and reduce cases of impersonation.

    According to him, the board’s personnel are fully on ground to ensure a smooth conduct of the examination and attend to any technical hitch in all the centres.

    The JAMB spokesman said: “We want to also assure the remaining candidates of this ongoing examination that they have nothing to fear as we have ensured that the cables, systems and backups in the various centres are fully operational and hitch-free.

    “So far, we want to say we are happy with the way the conduct of the examination has gone nationwide and we are hopeful that it is going to get better while it lasts.

    “We remain committed to ensuring that the future of the Nigerian child is secured and we have put all logistics in place to ensure that this year’s exam turns out one of the best ever conducted in recent times.”

  • Biometrics for traders, artisans

    Biometrics for traders, artisans

    Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi will on Thursday launch biometrics data capture and identification card project for tradesmen and artisans.
    Commissioner for Trade, Industry, Investment and Cooperatives Princess Taibat Adeyemi-Agba, in a statement yesterday, said the programme will hold at Trans Amusement Park, Ibadan by 11am.
    Adeyemi-Agba said the programme will provide the government information that will serve as database for providing commercial incentives and welfare packages.
    She added that the government will also use the data for local content in awarding jobs and contracts.

  • Benue: The biometrics of ghosts

    Can it be said that Nigeria is suffering from ghost trouble; especially the kind of ghosts that ‘work’ in government offices across the country? Our ‘worker-ghosts’ may have done much damage to our psyche that our leaders act like they have lost their marbles. An entire bureaucracy to manage our unyielding ‘ghosts’ is spawning.

    So very often our finance ministers in the attempt to impress us would announce to the world how they saved N100 billion from busting the ghouls living in the crevices of Nigeria’s rambling federal establishments.

    It has happened so many times we can actually term it a conundrum. Recall that former minister Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala did not stop regaling us with stories of her encounters with her civil service ghosts. She would tell us how many of them she had exorcised and how she had turned our spooky adversity to gains.

    To be fair, she even introduced the service-wide biometric capture. While she never reported that she managed to manacle any ghosts, she presented like she had wiped out the fiends and she was full of glorious song and dance.

    Just when we thought that the sepulchral entities had been exterminated by the old regime, we may have rejoiced too soon. The ruling finance minister, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, has simply dusted the scrap sheets of her predecessor, it seems. Every fortnight she not only tells us she has retrieved huge billions from the ghost-infested federal service; she has taken the fight one notch up. Over 20,000 ghosts (workers) have been apprehended, she said. They have been handed over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for prosecution.

    This must be a wonderland where ‘ghosts’ can be identified, arrested, held in police cells, arraigned and probably jailed. It is also a fantasy land where battling with ‘ghosts’ is ticked off as achievements of government. It may not be out of place to set up a department in charge of cleansing the system of ‘ghosts’. We can call it ‘Ghost Unit’.

    If you think you have heard all the ghoulish tales in Nigeria, then you may want to try this Benue story for your delight. A few weeks ago, the governor of Benue State in Nigeria’s middle belt, Mr. Samuel Ortom, inaugurated a 10-man salary verification committee to fish out ‘ghost-workers’.

    This is the second committee he has set up since he took office last year for the same purpose. According to the ghost-buggered governor, the biometric verification conducted earlier was not satisfactory as the bloated wage bill remained. But he is perspicacious enough to understand that “there could not be ‘ghost-workers’ without syndicates backing them.” It is a three-month long assignment and the governor urged committee members to be “down to earth.”

    Hardball thinks they may need to actually dig up the earth deep enough to find these fellows. They must also not fail to thank the ‘ghosts’ for creating such juicy jobs for them. Now a ‘ghost-workers’ sub-sector is growing in Benue State.

  • No biometrics, no share transaction, says Stock Exchange

    No biometrics, no share transaction, says Stock Exchange

    Individual and institutional investors will henceforth have to submit for biometric identification before they could buy or sell shares at the Nigerian stock market, according to new rules being proposed by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

    A draft copy of amendments to rules governing operations and operators at the stock market obtained at the weekend by The Nation showed that all stockbrokers will now be required to obtain the biometrics of all their clients in a new rule being proposed by the NSE.

    In what may have far-reaching implication at the market, NSE indicated biometric identifiers to be obtained “shall include finger prints and iris recognition and the information collected shall be applied towards confirming clients’ identities”.

    While individual investors will have to provide biometrics on every account, corporate entities will provide corporate information as well as biometrics of the authorized signatories to their share trading accounts.

    “No Dealing Member shall open, accept and/or operate a share trading account or otherwise deal in any manner whatsoever, on behalf of any person or entity unless the biometrics of such person or authorized signatories of the entity have been collected by the firm,” the new rules stated.

    According to the proposed rules, any stockbroker that fails to obtain the biometrics of its clients and obtain adequate know-your-client documentation from its clients shall be suspended from trading forthwith until regularization is effected.

    Besides, an investor will have to provide a minimum of three identifications to meet the new score-based criteria for opening of account, under one of the new rules.

    NSE is proposing a clients points system under which stockbrokers will have to ensure that an investor score a minimum of 10 points to be eligible to hold an account.

    In obtaining the data of its clients for identification purposes, every dealing member is expected to apply the “Clients Points System”, with the points awarded according to predetermined grade of the Exchange.

    According to the rules, international passport caries the highest grade of five points, national identity card carries four points, driver’s license obtains two points, utility bill accrues two points, voters card entitles to a point while employee’s photo identification card issued by recognized employer with employer’s tax identification from the Federal Inland Revenue Service obtains two points.

    Stockbrokers are also expected to obtain their clients’ investment objectives and they must identify the categories of investors under foreign, local retail or institutional investor.

    In addition to compliance with extant rules and laws on money laundering, stockbroking firms are also expected to have an anti-money laundering policy and train their employees on the prevention and detection of money laundering and other related activities as may be prescribed by the Exchange from time to time.

    Besides, brokers are expected to disclose to the NSE on a quarterly basis and in a prescribed format all proprietary accounts held by it whether directly or indirectly and with other stockbroking firms