The Nation Newspaper

Tag: registration

  • Drivers get ultimatum on registration

    The Transportation Secretariat of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has given all unregistered commercial vehicle operators up to October 1 to have their bio-data captured in the secretariat’s data base or be barred from operating within the FCT.

    Mr. Ifeanyi Ughamadu, Head of Public Relations of the Secretariat explained in a statement a copy of which was obtained by our correspondent, that the operators’ bio-data would be captured at the Transportation Secretariat data base, after which the information would be made available in hard and soft copies to agencies and organisations that require such for cross checking of the identities of the licensed taxi operators in their premises.

    Ughamadu further said residents of the territory should refrain from patronising unregistered and unpainted taxi cabs in the FCT, even as he said that the directive has become necessary following several reported cases of crimes committed against innocent commuters by criminals using unpainted vehicles.

    “To ensure the safety of commuters in the territory, the Transportation Secretariat has embarked on bio-data capturing of all commercial vehicle operators in the Territory,” he said.

    He also stated that the suspension of the scheme has not affected the implemented on street parking policy in the FCT. He added that motorists are advised to adhere strictly to the long practices on street parking policy in the city.

    “The Transportation Secretariat wishes to remind motorists of the consequences of wrong parking on the FCT roads. He called on them to adhere to the FCT traffic rules so as to make the city a lively place to dwell in.

    “Any vehicle that is parked on the walkways, flower verges, drainage covers and or blocking free traffic movements would be towed away and the vehicle owner will pay for the cost of the removal,” he stated.

  • Registration extended by two days

    Registration extended by two days

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) has extended its nationwide membership registration by two days to accommodate the millions of Nigerians who have turned out to register but could not yet do so.

    In a statement yesterday in Lagos by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said the registration would end on Wednesday, instead of today.

    The statement said: “While we are aware that the good people of Nigeria have accepted our party, the APC, as the agent of the much-needed change that our country desperately needs at this time, we have apparently underestimated the number of those who are eager and willing to participate actively in the change process by joining the APC.

    “Even with one day to go in the original registration schedule, we have exceeded the number of members we set out to register, and many more have reached out to us to give them the opportunity to join the APC train of change, hence our decision to extend the registration.”

    APC said it was aware of the efforts by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to sabotage the registration in Abia, Delta, Gombe and Rivers, among other states.

    The party said there was need to ensure that the people of the affected states were not disenfranchised.

    It urged interested Nigerians to use the extension period to register.

  • Tension over alleged double registration

    Tension over alleged double registration

    •Disqualify anybody found to be involved, says LP

    Fear has gripped members of some parties in Anambra State, following alleged double registration by one of the governorship candidates.

    A member of the campaign team of the Labour Party (LP) candidate, Ifeanyi Ubah, said yesterday that anybody found to be involved in double registration should be disqualified and prosecuted.

    The Director, Media and Publicity of Ifeanyi Ubah Campaign Organisation, Prince Chukwuemeka said in Awka that it was being speculated that one of the governorship candidates was involved in double registration in Lagos and Anambra.

    But the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Awka, denied this yesterday.

    A senior official of the commission, who pleaded for anonymity, said he had not heard of the rumour, describing double registration as a big offence.

    When The Nation called the chairman of the party involved, he refused to pick his calls.

    People were discussing the development yesterday.

    Prince Chukwuemeka of LP yesterday said the Law specified imprisonment, fine or both for anybody involved in double registration.

    “What we are saying is that INEC should be courageous enough in letting the masses know who has committed this sacrilege and disqualify him without further delay and the appropriate punishment meted out to him” he said.

     

  • The Police motor central registration

    The Police motor central registration

    Does the equipment acquired to store the data have enough capacity to handle and process the data?

    •Is there any provision for data back-up equipment in case the main data bank crashes?

    •Are all the Police stations (big and small) equipped with computers, internet facilities and tracking equipment to render the services they promised?

    •How many of the Police officers have been trained on how to use the computers, internet and trackers?

    •If a car is snatched in Ikorodu, does the victim need to go to Victoria Island to get the vehicle data retrieved and the vehicle tracked? Are the Police communication and networking gadgets in proper shape?

    •Has the necessary failure-proof arrangement that been made to guarantee that the process does not take move than the 10 minutes promised by the Police Authority?

    •Are the Police stations equipped with alternative power supply to handle security and car theft cases when there is power failure?

    •Is there any provision for the maintenance of the equipment and the fuelling of the generators or will the Police depend on the complainants to service the equipment or fuel the generators as is the case in most Police Stations now?

    •Has adequate public enlightenment been done on the BCMR?

    •Has the Nigeria Police Authority examined if BCMR is not a duplication of what the FRSC and the State Motor Vehicle Licensing Authority are doing as regards Driver Licence and the new Plate Number? Is it not possible to upload the relevant Biometric data from the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) and the Motor Vehicle Licensing Authority and collect just N1,000 per applicant for this service?

    I encourage the Nigeria Police not to focus on income generation alone because a lot of money will surely be generated from the scheme at the rate of N1,500 for motorcycles/tricycles and N3,500 for other vehicles. They should however focus more attention on rendering the needed services to Nigerians without suffering us.

    Our lawmakers and other people in authority should stop sitting on the fence. They should take proactive steps to defend the interest of the less-privileged Nigerians in the hands of the Authorities that look stronger than them.

    Lastly, I want to use this opportunity to encourage all the Staff of government agencies and other government official to endeavour to take special course or read books on strategic policy and executive action with special focus on environmental analysis and diagnosis. This will greatly help them in policy Formulation and decision making.

  • Primary school registration ends tomorrow

    Parents who wish to enrol their wards into public primary schools in Ogun State have until tomorrow to register them.

    The Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Mr Segun Odubela advised parents and guardians to register their wards into schools closest to their homes.

    Odubela, in a statement issued by the press officer of the ministry, Kayode Oduyebo, directed head teachers of public primary schools within the state to ensure that the exercise is free to all eligible six- year olds.

    Ahead of the registration, which started August 19, the Ogun State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) had as part of preparation for the 2013/2014 session, embarked on massive construction of blocks of classroom in selected junior secondary and primary schools in the three geo-political zones.

    Speaking at the inauguration of one of the projects, Odubela, a barrister, said the government would not relent on its oars towards ensuring the delivery of free but qualitative education to all school-aged children in the State.

    He also enjoined parents and guardians to cooperate with the government by monitoring their wards’ activities after school hours.

     

  • The Lagos residents registration initiative

    Society has become more mobile and the information held electronically about persons and services by government agencies and other bodies have substantially increased. There is a growing need to integrate the residents of Lagos State into e-government initiatives to enable the services provided by government to be fully utilized and also provide an accurate picture for government policy and planning.

    The Lagos State Residents Registration initiative has the potential to address key challenges facing e-government and other initiatives. Various e-government initiatives have been enabled to collect electronic data and each operates autonomous of each other. To provide a more accurate picture for government policies and planning, a link must be established between these various stores of data.

    It is with a view to institutionalizing this process that the Lagos State Residents Registration Agency, LASRRA, was established in 2011 by an enactment of state law, by which it was fully empowered to implement a residents database and identification card program for Lagos State.

    The goals of the agency include, establishing a reliable and updateable database of all residents of Lagos State, providing useful information for social, political, business and financial activities, creating and documenting a unique means of identification of Lagos State residents, providing a highly secured identification card for all residents of the State and removing the veil of anonymity from every citizen of the state

    The Residents Register is an electronic database, currently being developed by LASRRA which contains demographic information of all residents of the state. It is a governmental, centralized, trustworthy and comprehensive source of information that would assist the state government with decision-making process and allocation of resources as it contains important and vital information about residents of the state.

    On the other hand, the residency card is an electronic means of identification and authentication that LASRRA undertakes to issue to all residents of the state. Using sophisticated technological features, the residency card is a safe means of identification of persons and verification of their identities. It contains a unique reference number (residency number) that links every individual to his/her own personal and biological data. The residency number serves as a reference for the respective individual in his/her identity-proved transactions with government bodies.

    It is instructive to stress that the card is produced and issued at no cost to all residents while registration is equally done free of charge to all residents.

    The residency card is a safe and precise means of personal authentication and identification. Its primary aim is to make it easier for the card holder to obtain all governmental and non-governmental services in the future. Among the most important benefits and features of the card are enhanced sense of belonging, protection of identity, ease and convenience and providing an integral database. The residency card is primarily designed for the administration of the services that the Lagos State government provides for the people that reside in the state. Its objective is to enable efficiency in the allocation of resources to meet the needs of the people. Using the contact details provided at the time of registration, all those that have registered and their cards are ready for collection, will be notified by SMS to collect their cards at the LASRRA LG/LCDA office nearest to their place of residents.

    It should be emphasized that biometrics simplifies identity verification as the 10 fingerprints, signature and face image of residents are captured as part of the registration process. A challenge for residents, mostly the needy, is the lack of documentation to establish their identity. Once these residents enroll for an identity number linked to their biometrics, they can afterward confirm their identity multiple times, anywhere in the state and to any agency, by providing their demographic details or biometric scan.

    It is important to accentuate that every one that is currently residing in the state is required to register. Once you have been residing in the state for six months or more, you are eligible to register. This registration would, henceforth, be a prerequisite to accessing the services provided by Lagos State government for its residents. In cases of people relocating from one place in Lagos to another, it must be stressed that people must be responsible for their own data and it is their responsibility to ensure that their data is up to date. If not, when accessing government services and there are discrepancies they will be sent back to update their data.After registration, quality checks are done followed by correction processes (where required). The data is then sent to the database, where the data undergoes various stages of screening and validations. This ensures that the source of data is authenticated ensuring that no duplicate exists. After which, the resident unique identification number is generated.In case of any errors, the record goes on hold for further enquiry. Corrective actions are taken on such as contacting the applicant via the contact information given. This may take over five weeks to resolve.If a card needs to be replaced due to loss, theft or change of information, the resident should contact any of the registration stations across the state and make a request.

    However, as earlier stated, the first residency card is provided free of charge, subsequent cards may be at a charge. For clarification purpose, the registration exercise does not confer any status other than that the card holder at the time of registration resides in the state and it is not an attempt to discriminate against non-Lagos indigenes as it is open to everyone that lives in Lagos State, irrespective of ethnic origin, nationality, religious affiliation, age etc. Till date, the initiative has been able to create over 1,000 jobs for the pilot scheme. In preparation for the commencement of its statutory responsibility of registering the residents of Lagos State, LASRRA organized a one day open forum for public and civil servants in the state. The purpose of the forum was to further enlighten the citizens about the project as well as share views with them.

    Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola, who was represented at the event by the State Head of Service, Prince Adesegun Ogunlewe, said that his administration will continue to make itself accessible to the general public through regular such public engagements.

    On a final note, let me stress, once again, that the main purpose of the resident registration initiative is to ensure proper planning as well as efficient allocation of the state’s scarce resources. It should not be misconstrued as census.

     

  • APC reviews processes for registration

    THE All Progressives Congress (APC) has reviewed its processes in the ongoing registration, said the Chairman, Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) Merger Committee, Chief Tom Ikimi.

    Addressing reporters yesterday at Abuja, Ikimi said the various merging parties of the APC were scheduled to hold caucus meetings last night on the formation of the interim leadership of the new party.

    He said the merging committee’s meeting had examined various options that would be tabled before the caucuses for the conclusion of the registration process.

    The review, said the merger chairman, would give all the parties a sense of belonging.

    He said: “We continued from the meeting we had last Tuesday. We have reviewed the processes that are ongoing with the registration of our party and looked into various issues in order that we can carry all the merging parties along.

    “And this evening, there will be caucus meetings of the merging parties. So, we have worked out various options, which we want to take to the caucuses so that will meet with the leadership in our caucuses and finalise these matters.”

    Asked to give an update on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) request for an interim officer of the APC, Ikimi said the party has looked at the various structures in order to accommodate all the merging parties.

    According to him, yesterday’s nocturnal meeting will ensure that every party gets a sense of belonging.

    “That is one issue. We have looked into various structures to ensure that all the merging parties are taken along. And this, we will discuss tonight and see that every party has a sense of belonging,” he said.

    Ikimi stressed that since time is not on the side of APC, it will, in a matter of days, sort out all issues concerning its interim leadership.

    He said: “Well, there is no much time left now. I am sure in matter of days.”

    Ikimi, however, explained that INEC has replied APC’s request for registration application which the party submitted on June 8.

     

  • Nine-man committee for APC registration

    Nine-man committee for APC registration

    The former presidential candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) in the last general election, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, has dismissed speculations that some prominent party leaders have been endorsed as the Interim National Chairmen of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    He said a nine-man Interim Management Committee, drawn from the three opposition parties – the ANPP, the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), which formed the APC – would be selected for speedy registration of the party with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    The nine members will comprise three members from each of the merging parties.

    Shekarau addressed reporters yesterday in Kano on the merger of opposition parties for the formation of APC.

    He said such the stakeholders had not reached the stage to tip anybody as the new party’s interim chairman.

    The former governor, who is a member of the merger arrangement, explained that when the interim management is formed, it will last three months within which it will work out an arrangement for the new party to be registered.

    He said after the certificate of the three parties are withdrawn by INEC, the commission will issue the certificate of registration to APC, which will facilitate the emergence of a National Executive Committee (NEC) that will produce the executives of the new party.

    According to him, the period the constitution allows them is three months.

    Shekarau said the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) and the Democratic Peoples’ Party (DPP) were regarded from the onset as groups, adding that they have not held their national conventions.

    The former governor also said there are five major aspects that need to be submitted to INEC for registration. He said these include conveying the convention resolution by the party, constitution and manifestoes approved by the convention, the office address of APC.

    All these, the former governor said, have been sorted out. He said three weeks after the convention, the leadership of the parties and the merger committees have been discussing how to set up the interim management.

    Shekarau said the constitution of the APC provides for a transitional leadership that will lead the party for six months to conduct its congresses, register the party as well as conduct the convention, to leave a place for substantive elected officers who will run the party for four years.

    He said: “At the close of the week, some consensus was arrived at to save time. The parties are busy discussing what structures to put in place for the caretaker transitional committee at national, states, local and wards levels to fast-track the process by using the three principal officers of the three parties, as the Chairman, the Secretary and the Treasurer. They will form application that will be conveyed to the INEC.”

  • Brokers decry NAICOM’s registration fee

    Brokers in the industry have condemned the increase in brokers licence processing fees from N1million to N2.5million by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM).

    The brokers, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also accused the commission of frustrating them out of business.

    One of the brokers said insurance brokerage is one area that enables chartered insurance practitioners to practice, but with the new fee, it has become difficult for prospective brokers to practice in the field they choose to.

    He said: “The new licensing fee can be seen as a barrier to anybody willing to practise as a broker. This kind of fees does not abound in other professions like accountancy, law, estate surveyors, quantity surveying among others.

    “If the regulator wants to deepen insurance penetration and increase awareness, then we need skilled and knowledgeable people and the new fees does not encourage this.”

    A female broker, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said this kind of regulation can be frustrating to people wishing to take part in the profession.

    She noted that though the new fees do not directly affect brokers who have been practising, it affects professionals in the industry.

    But Assistant Director, Corporate affairs, NAICOM, Mr. Rasaaq Salami, said the new fees which took effect from January 1, this year only affects new brokers.

    The commission, as part of efforts aimed at effective service delivery, directed that registration of new brokers by the Commission would henceforth be done in two batches yearly.

    The commission said: “Consequently, operating licences to successful applicants in the first batch would be issued on June 31 of each year, while the second batch shall be issued on December 31 of the same year.

    “For applications falling due in the first batch, all relevant documents are expected to reach the commission not later than March 31, while those for the second batch should have been received in the Commission on or before September 30 for processing.

    ‘’Applications and support documents received after March 31 or September 30, shall be treated as part of the next batches for consideration in the succeeding second half of the year.’’

     

  • Agric scheme: Farmers’ registration in collation stage, says FG

    Registration of farmers for the 2013 edition of the Growth Enhancement Support (GES) scheme in the country has reached its collation stage, the Federal Government said.

    The Special Assistant to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (Media), Dr. Olukayode Oyeleye, disclosed this in a chat with The Nation yesterday in Abuja.

    He said the registration process for the year was more effective compared to the previous exercise due to the deployment of information technology equipments.

    Oyeleye said: “For 2013, farmer’s registration is being collated so it is too premature to give details without figures until everything has been collated.”

    He expressed hope that the data for this year edition will be more specific and reliable.

    The scheme is a FG initiative under the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) designed to support farmers with farm inputs such as fertiliser, improved seeds and tractor services.

    Under the initiative, farmers will access inputs through an electronic distribution channel known as the e-wallet.

    Registered farmers are expected to pays 50 percent of the cost of farm inputs while the FG and states jointly pay the balance.

    Oyeleye admitted the possibility of extending the registration if the Federal Government considers it necessary.