National Identity Programme requires funding, commitment to succeed says NIMC DG

The Director General, National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Mr Aliyu Aziz, has said that Nigeria’s National Identity Programme required funding and political will to succeed.

Aziz said this while speaking during the 6th General Assembly of Northern Traditional Rulers Council (NTRC) in Kaduna.

NIMC General Manager, Operations and Communications, Mr Abdulhamid Umar, said this in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja.

“Nigeria’s national identity programme will not succeed unless there is strong political commitment on the part of government backed by adequate funding.

“Without strong political leadership and commitment, financial resources and stakeholder collaboration, the national identity programme will not be successful and sustained.

“Like any government reform, political will and strong leadership are required to implement the national identity project,” he said.

Aziz, therefore solicited the support and fatherly advice of the traditional rulers and other stakeholders to enable the commission succeed in the task of national identification.

He also informed the gathering that all modern economic services were done digitally by relying on good identification to promote economic growth and opportunities.

“For Nigeria to enhance governance, help its people rise out of poverty, restore growth and participate in the digital economy.

“We need a unique digital identification platform that is linked to functional identity registries for accessing services.

“There is a strong correlation between inclusive identification and nation building and this is central in effective delivery of important services to the people,” he said.

He said, identifying “who is who” was critical to accessing services physically and electronically, including identifying the targeted beneficiaries of a programme, project or scheme.

According to Aziz, a robust digital identity for Nigeria will lead to access to finance, gender equality and empowerment, access to basic health, educational services and child protection.

He also said that, other benefits of digital identity included migration, labour market opportunities, reduction in the cost of governance.

Aziz also indicated that, some of the challenges NIMC faced in executing national identity project were poor funding, inadequate mobilisation and limited awareness.

He therefore, appealed to the royal fathers to help with awareness and mobilisation by assisting their subjects with source documents to enable them enroll for the National Identification Number (NIN).

He reminded them of some of the social services for which NIN must be presented and verified which included application and issuance of passports and opening of bank accounts.

He said, other services included purchase of insurance policies, all land related transactions, payment of taxes, admission into schools, voter registration and pension transactions.