Benjamin Babine, Abuja
The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Pantami, has charged the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to increase the monthly National Identification Number (NIN) enrollment from 500,000 to 2.5 million.
Daily Sun learned that the Minister gave this charge as he received briefing from the management team of the NIMC on their activities following the final transfer of the supervision of the commission to the ministry.
Dr Pantami, while giving this charge for a 500 percent increase, commended the Director-General of NIMC, Engr Aliyu A. Aziz, for his commitment and passion, noting that there has been a considerable increase in enrolments since he became the Chief Executive Officer of NIMC.
However, he stated that there is still a need to raise the bar even higher by ensuring that the enrolment rate is 5 times the current rate. He said this is imperative because the NIN will soon be made mandatory for accessing government services and interventions.
The Minister used the opportunity of the meeting to discuss the challenges fighting against the success of NIMC’s activities, including the challenge of inadequate funds.He assured the NIMC team that he will do all he can to address these challenges.
He also stated that he will continue to meet with NIMC regularly until he is certain the performance of the Commission is enhanced significantly and efficient services are offered to Nigerians.
Meanwhile, the Minister also stated that he is committed to ensuring that citizens easily obtain secure digital identity and urged them to enroll as soon as possible.