…Says N5 billion needed for harmonization
The Federal Government on Thursday tasked the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to leave no stone unturned to ensure that National Identification Number is used to authenticate eligible voters during elections in the nearest future.
Nigeria, presently has multiple identity management system including banks issuing Bank Verification Number (BVN), Sim card registration by NCC, Voters registration by INEC, School registration done at various Local Government Areas (LGAs), birth registration by National Population Commission (NPC), International Passport by Nigeria Immigriation Service and drivers license jointly issued by the Vehicles Inspection Officers (VIO) and Federal Road Safety Corps.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo gave the latest directive during Policy Roundtable Meeting on Identity Management organised by NIMC in collaboration with the World Bank at the old Banquet Hall of the State House, Abuja.
The Vice President, who was represented by the Deputy Chief of Staff (DCOS) to the President, Ade Ipaye, noted that the government can no longer maintain the cost of duplication of biometrics collection in the country.
He said: “The fiscal cost of implementing disparate and unconnected biometrics linked data bases is increasingly becoming a huge burden and needs to be streamlined going forward, as government cannot continue to fund the unnecessary duplication of efforts and overlapping identity functions that further deplete its scarce resources.
“Clearly, there are potentially large benefits from integration of the ID programmes of our government institutions. And we must take this advantage to get it right once and for all.
“As we endeavour to resolve the identity management system challenges, we will also ensure that other forms of identification such as Driver’s licence, international passports and so on are aligned and in sinc.
“The President has already taken the initiative in recognising the importance of identity and a harmonized system. That is why there was a directive from my office in December of 2015 for all stakeholders to have built independent identity management systems.
“Stakeholders could have built independent identity management system to consolidate, aggregate and integrate their data bases as a way to accelerate and scale up the national identity system so as to offer every Nigerian a unique identifier.
“I am aware that a lot of work has been done in this regard by all the stakeholders’ represented here. However, it is his Excellency the president’s charge that the national identification number is used to authenticate eligible voters in the nearest future as well as in the areas of access to health, insurance, registration of sim cards, access to the social welfare programmes of this administration and for all financial transactions.
“The development of identity programmes in Nigeria will greatly help the nation leverage on its potentials to improve security of lives and properties, advance service delivery and fight poverty and corruption. Achieving full-scale national identity management will therfore boost our efforts at better tracking the movement of people while minimizing issues with external border controls and terrorism”, he stated
The Director General of NIMC, Aliyu Aziz said that the commission can meet the President’s directives in 24 months if it gets the N5 billion needed to harmonise data from collecting agencies like the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Bank Verification Number (BVN) and Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS).
Noting that the multiple identification in the country is punishment, the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Mohammed Babandede, said that several workshops being organised will be in vain if there is no budget to do the harmonization.
The World Bank Country Director in Nigeria, Rachid Benmessaoud, represented by Indira Konjhodzic, said that the collaboration was in recognition of the importance of identity management as one of the platform for development.
According to him, about 1.5 billion people (most of whom were internally displaced, refugees, entrepreneurs etc) worldwide were with no formal prove of identity at the moment, and was a challenge for them to get loan nor participate in democratic and political development.
Describing Nigeria as a power house in Africa whose action would attract the interest of her neighbours and countries on the continent, he said the ID management will help the social safety net system of government and enable them reach the poor and the marginalised.
Identity management, he said, would also bridge the gap of close to 50 percent Nigerians that are not banked.
The Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu noted that Nigeria has not gone too far with population, exposure and level of civilization.
He urged NIMC to set timeline to harmonise identity management in the country and should be at the forefront of advocates for ID management legislation in the country.
The Minister also suggested that the government should encourage compliance by citizens by giving certain social benefits to the national I’d holders.
Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Babatunde Fowler, said harmonisation of identity management would capture about 40 million Nigerian workers not registered as tax payers, which will in turn generate more funds for the government.
