WHATS UR TAKE ON THIS?..........Jonathan sets Dec 2014 deadline to register all eligible Nigerians, as he says FG can no longer sustain multiple discordant databases President Goodluck Jonathan has given the National Identity Management Commission until December 31, 2014 to ensure all eligible persons as provided for in Section 16 of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) Act No. 23, of 2007 are enrolled into the National Identity Database. Jonathan gave the order today at the formal Launch of the Enrolment Exercise for the Issuance of the National Identification Number (NIN) at the Council Chambers of the State House, Abuja. He has also ordered that by the same date, all 14 government agencies requiring identity verification and authentication services or involved in data capture activities must align their activities with a view to switching over to the NIMC infrastructure. The President noted that if the work of law enforcement officers is to be enhanced; if consumer credit is to be accessible; if we are to reduce the cost of managing the Naira cash component currently estimated at N192 billion per annum; if we are to reduce the amount of currency in circulation currently put at N1.93 trillion; if we are to achieve a multiple pronged approach to the fight against corruption; and finally, if we are to introduce social security or welfare payments, then we must, first and foremost, establish and verify appropriately, the identities of individuals. The President noted that Nigeria cannot be an exception to the global trend towards Identity Management and Centralised National Identity Database. There is a growing quest for specific databases and identity verification by several government institutions and private sector organizations in our country. Aside from being unwieldy, the cost of operating multiple discordant databases and infrastructure is unsustainable. Government cannot afford the continued proliferation of data capture activities. The proliferation does not grant any advantage in efficiency, neither does it make good economic sense. The growing identity verification needs, therefore calls for harmonization and integration of identity databases and the development of a universal service infrastructure, he said. President Jonathan therefore charged the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and the Federal Ministry of Finance to ensure that these objectives, which are aimed at streamlining biometrically-linked databases and optimizing scarce resources, are accomplished on record time. He said while Government remains committed to the accelerated development of the National Identity Management System (NIMS), the private sector must also rise up to its role. Corporate operators must seize the unique opportunities provided by the Concession Agreement, to make investments in the Scheme. Private sector participation would mean extended optimization of resources typically devoted to addressing issues of PROOF OF IDENTITY across the nation. It would also mean seamless integration and use of a common facility for identity verification and authentication, in both the public and private sectors. President Jonathan stressed that an ascendable and flexible system that provides for expansion and upgrading in line with technological advances, is a necessary infrastructure that we must be equipped with, to meet our contemporary goals in building our Nation. The Management of NIMC must now drive this important project with all the seriousness it deserves. We must move deftly to discount time lost so far, for failure is not an option
Posted on: Fri, 18 Oct 2013 07:50:42 +0000
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