The President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, on Thursday said the ongoing synchronisation of National Identification Number with SIM cards across the country will help the nation to identify people, including crooks, easily.
He therefore urged Nigerians to fully participate in the exercise which he said would provide a digital framework for improving security and strengthening the economy.
According to a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, the President spoke while inaugurating the National Policy for the Promotion of Indigenous Content in Nigerian Telecoms Sector and Revised National Identity Policy for SIM Cards registration at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The president said proper identification of all Nigerians and legal residents in the country and ability to conveniently access a data base would provide impetus for more effective planning and security oversight.
“The NIN will cover one of the weaknesses in our security structure. We will be able to easily identify and know the personality of Nigerians. We will identify people easily, including the crooks,’’ he said.
The president said the inauguration of the Revised National Digital Identity Policy for SIM Card registration was timely and would support efforts to enhance security and develop the economy.
“The National Identification Number is the foundational digital ID for the country; both Nigerian citizens and legal residents are expected to obtain the NIN. It will provide access to government services and will give government useful insights that will enable us to utilise scarce resources in a more efficient way,’’ he added.
Buhari said proper identification of all Nigerians and legal residents in the country and the ability to conveniently access a database would provide the impetus for more effective planning and security oversight.
He said, “The National Identification Number is the foundational digital ID for the country; both Nigerian citizens and legal residents are expected to obtain the NIN.
“It will provide access to government services and will give the government useful insights that will enable us to utilise scarce resources more efficiently.”
He said the digital economy sector had made significant progress and recorded a number of unprecedented achievements since his regime expanded the mandate of the Ministry of Communications to include the digital economy mandate.
He added, “The Information and Communications Technology sector was the fastest growing sector in both the fourth quarter of 2020 and the entire year 2020, based on the report by the National Bureau of Statistics.
“The sector’s 14.70 per cent double-digit growth rate played a principal role in supporting our country to exit the recession triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The growth rate of the sector exceeded four times the next fastest-growing sector of Q4 2020, ICT Sector which had a growth rate of 3.42 per cent. This is truly commendable.”
Buhari said the digital economy sector paved way for online options for activities that were, before now, limited to offline channels. This, he said, had reduced the cost of meetings.
He added that the NPICNTS was in line with his administration’s commitment to ensure that Nigerians become and remain active participants in the different sectors of the economy, including the telecommunications sector.
Buhari said, “We now have virtual Federal Executive Council, virtual Council of State and virtual National Economic Council meetings, among others, even though this development was triggered by COVID-19,’’ Buhari said.
“As a country, our desire to produce what we eat, and consume what we produce is not limited to the literal meaning; rather we want to work towards being self-sufficient in every sector of the economy.
“For the telecom sector, we want Nigerians to play a major role in the design and manufacture of devices, in meeting the manpower requirements and in becoming an active part of the telecommunications ecosystem of the country.
“The policy aims to achieve this and I have earlier directed the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Pantami, to develop the structure for its implementation and forward this to the Nigerian Communications Commission to implement.
“We are confident that the execution of the Policy will further enhance our economy and lead to the creation of jobs.”
“Previous attempts have been unsuccessful due to a number of reasons, including sabotage. Our focused approach shows that this administration is dedicated to ensuring that we derive the benefits of a secure and robust digital identity system.’’
The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, expressed gratitude to the President for his unwavering support to the telecoms sector, its regulators and operators.
He added that the NIN registration had been a huge success with 54 million Nigerians already captured and over 12 million Nigerians being enrolled within six months.
Pantami said it was now possible to possess virtual ID cards acceptable in various transactions, assuring that the NIN and SIM card registration for Nigerians and legal residents would cover 99.9 per cent.
Reviewed by Mgbara Zion Barisuka
on
May 07, 2021
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