‭NIMC to partner private, public sector organisations to capture citizens’ data ‬

The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has expressed its readiness to partner with private and public sector organisations to capture data and issue unique identity numbers to Nigerians within the next two years.

The Managing Director of the Commission, Aliyu Aziz said this in an interview with our reporter on Monday in Abuja.

Aziz said that the decision to go into partnership was due to the challenges being faced by the commission in capturing data of citizens, adding that the process was cumbersome for only the commission to handle.

According to him, the organisations will be granted license to operate as NIMC is almost concluding the licensing process.

He said the framework for selecting eligible companies would soon be published, and it would contain the criteria, rules of engagement as well as terms of condition.

“Registration of over 180 million Nigerians into the National Identity Database is a challenging task, and to deliver effectively and timely on this mandate, there is the need for partnership,’’ he said.

The NIMC boss said the Commission would soon conclude plans with the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) to assist the commission to enroll Nigerians in Diaspora and issue them the NIN upon successful completion of their clearance.

According to him, this will enable Nigerians in Diaspora to exercise their rights.

He stated that the commission had about 809 enrolment centres nationwide, urging Nigerians to make use of the opportunity to register.

“Nothing is stopping anyone who doesn’t have a National Identity Number (NIN) from entering any of these NIMC offices to obtain theirs before they go to the Immigration office for their International Passport.

“So for Nigerians within, there is no problem; it is only Nigerians in the diaspora that we will have problems with in the immediate future, because NIMC is yet to commence enrolment for them,” he disclosed.

Aziz said the Commission had put in place a robust NIN verification and authentication platform through which the number could be verified and authenticated by government agencies or private institutions offering services.