The Director General, National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Engineer Aliyu Aziz, has explained hitches experienced by the Commission that prevent aggressive printing and issuance of national identity card to the citizens.
In a keynote address at the on-going Nigeria Computer Society (NCS) national conference in Ibadan, Oyo State, Engineer Aziz, said that coming out of recession, the country needs to take issues around digital inclusion very serious, especially the national identity management.
He said the Commission has faced challenges which has slowed the pace of issuance of the national identity card, hence plans in place to ensure massive printing and issuance the all-important national ID Card in the next three years.
Similarly, the Commission has developed processes for easier harmonisation of data gathered from Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in line with the Federal Government’s directive.
In his words: “If you consider what India has done, they issued numbers to over one billion people; not even written on paper. They just give you the number; yet it has been a huge. And in Nigeria, we have successfully done the Bank Verification Numbers (BVN) and issued on papers.
“Now considering the recession we focused on issuing the digital identity card, which is the National Identity Number (NIN). We are focusing on NIN and will start printing of cards in next three years.
He said that NIMC is also considering harmonising features in the National ID Card to ten (10). “Also, we have received documents of about 15million (from MDAs) for harmonization”.
The DG, however, decried that slow broadband penetration in hinterlands has caused hitches for the Commission in its quest to grant every Nigerian access to enrolment.
“We all have to care for digital inclusion; it is more complex, but entails the allocation of resources to deploy infrastructure. We need to create environment for the deployment of new technology that will enable digital inclusion.
“We have to strike a balance between protecting individual rights and remaining open to digital flaws. Rather than relegating old debates about digital inclusion, it is time to accept the reality of the new era of digital economy and work to maximize its benefits, minimize its costs, and distribute the gains inclusively. Only then can its true promise be realised.
Source: TechEconomy.ng