Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha, has said that since 2012, the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) had enrolled a total number of 41 million Nigerians.
He said it has also issued each person with a unique identifier known as the National Identification Number (NIN), which serves as a universal proof of identity.
The SGF said that the Commission also harmonised about 11 million Bank Verification Number (BVN) data from other public agencies, according to a report by the Vanguard.
Mustapha made these claims at the inauguration of the Steering Committee for the Nigeria Digital Identity for Development Ecosystem project in Abuja, with him as the Chairman.
Other members of the committee are Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed, who serves as the Alternate Chairman/Member; Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), member; Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, member; and Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, member.
Others are Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, member; Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Pantami, member; Director-General, National Orientation Agency, Dr. Garba Abari, member and the Director-General of NIMC, Engr. Aliyu Aziz, member and Secretary.
Listed as the committee’s terms of reference as approved by President Muhammadu Buhari are: Review of the legal and regulatory framework for digital identity development; Implementation of the strategic roadmap; and Utilisation of foundational identity to access services;
Others include the Determination of the location of the Ecosystem Strategic Unit; Receive the report on the implementation through the DG NIMC and provide necessary guidance and approval.
“One major objective of an accelerated digital identification system is to increase the enrolment of the entire eligible population, which means increasing the database by 187 million within the next three to five years’ duration of the project,” the SGF said.
The inauguration, which was witnessed by the World Bank team led by the Country Director for Nigeria, Shubham Chaudhuri, also had in attendance, the Permanent Secretary, Political and Economic Affairs, in the Office of the SGF, Mr. Andrew David Adejoh.
