Over 100m Nigerians have no form of ID- NIMC 41.5m citizens, legal residents enrolled into National Identity Database
The registration and obtaining the National Identity Cards is still a far cry from fruition as over 100 million Nigerians have no identity.
Director-general, National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) Mr Aliyu Aziz, while speaking during a zoom meeting with editors on the topic: “Strategic Roadmap for ID Development’’said that “These include the poorest and the most vulnerable groups, such as the marginalised – women and girls, the less-educated people, migrants, refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, people with disabilities and people living in rural and remote areas.”
Aziz added that “The estimated population of Nigeria stands at 200 million. Only about 38 per cent of the population has any form of ID’’.
NIMC boss also revealed the commission has enrolled all Nigerian citizens physically present, those outside Nigeria as well as the legal residents and issued 41.5 million unique identifiers, known as National Identification Numbers (NIN), since the commencement of identity registration and enrolment in 2012.
“Between 2012 till date, only 41.5 million citizens and legal residents have been enrolled into the National Identity Database (NIDB) and issued unique NIN, an average of 5.2 million enrollments per annum.
“At this rate, it will take a long time to enroll the remainder of the people currently living in the country today, and by that time, about 292 million more people would have been added.
“Hence the need for a strategy to enroll the backlog within the shortest possible time. And that is the reason for the idea of strategic roadmap and the birth of the ecosystem approach,’’ Aziz said.
He explained that while the identity card could expire, the National Identification Numbers (NIN) issued was for a lifetime.
He harped on the need for people to be registered for documented identity, stressing that it mattered a lot, especially for development.
“Identity matters a lot for development, as inclusive and trusted ID systems can help achieve the goals of empowering individuals and enhancing their access to rights, services and the formal economy.
“It helps in strengthening transparency, promoting efficiency and effectiveness in governance, service delivery and accountability.
“It also supports private sector development and service delivery, grows digital economy as well as regional and global integration as well as generates reliable data.
“Good ID system supports development goals, including access to finance, gender and equality, empowerment, access to basic health and education services, child protection, migration and labour market opportunities, improved access and quality of social protection as well as governance,’’ he added.
The DG NIMC said that people were registering more in Lagos, Abuja, Kaduna and Kano compared with other cities, while lamenting that residents in states in the South-East appeared to show little interest in the identity capturing.
He announced that the commission had entered strategic partnerships with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), National Orientation Agency (NOA), Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) and other media agencies to sensitise Nigerians on the importance of identity registration.
