FG makes move to introduce Digital ID

The Nigerian Government is making moves to dump the plastic-card means of identification and going digital.
The Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, disclosed this to state house correspondents yesterday August 13 after he, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami and the Director-General of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Engineer Aliyu A. Aziz, had a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari to submit the report of the Committee on Citizens Data Management and Harmonisation.

Aregbesola said the new direction in citizen identification will include individual DNA samples, adding that the card-based would merely be for convenience.

“The card is just for convenience. The real thing is the number you have, with that number you are on the databank, everything about you is there. We are just upgrading it such that your DNA too will be there very soon. Even if you are in a car, I will know if you are the one in the car with your DNA, it’s already captured. You are already captured, you cannot run away anymore”

The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Pantami, agreeing with Aregbesola said the priority now is going digital.
“What the chairman is saying now is that we are no more talking about cards, the world has gone digital, so that card is no more. Our priority now is digital ID; it will be attached to your database wherever you are. So if you can memorize it by heart, wherever you go that central database domiciled with NIMC will be able to provide the number and every of your data will be provided. Now, our focus is no longer on producing cards, that card is only for record but what is important is that the digital ID and if you notice we have started using the digital ID on international passport. Once you have the digital ID but not the card, we are 100 percent done with you,” he said.

The Director-General of NIMC, Engr. Aziz, on his part said the production of identification cards is strenuous as well as streaming the nation’s foreign exchange out of the country.

“With your national ID you are already identified, in the US it’s called social security number, the same with UK and… they can control more than 1.3 billion people in about seven minutes.

“So we have found that this card is strenuous, it is forex that is going out of the country and we are in 21st century and that is why we are focusing on national identification number and other identifications by other agencies have been linked to NIMC” he said

11 Comments

  1. This is going to be another stress for the masses. I know how much the masses suffered to get the plastic id they want to discard now
    New government with new policy sometimes just to raise fund for their establishment and parastatal
    If this is going to be better as the experts have said let them embark on it

  2. Federal government should make sure that they pursue this project to the end if eventually the project take off and I hope it Will reduce the criminalities of the citizens.

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