Nigeria ID4D continues partnership spree to meet digital ID ambitions

The Nigeria Digital Identification for Development project (Nigeria ID4D) and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) have agreed to forge a partnership aimed at helping the country attain its digital identity goals.

The deal was reached recently when a delegation of the former paid a courtesy call on the Director General of the latter in Abuja, per Vanguard. The agreement also encourages other stakeholders in the digital ID landscape in Nigeria to collaborate for the same objectives.

Speaking on the occasion, the Nigeria ID4D national coordinator Musa Solomon reiterated the role of the project in building Nigeria’s digital ID ecosystem, saying NITDA had been identified as an important partner in the process.

“The project is working towards enhancing the National Identification Management System (NIMS), driven by the NIMC (National Identity Management Commission) that would enable the provision of NIN (National Identification Number) from birth,” Solomon explained.

The ID4D executive also added the initiative is working towards the digitization of the civil system that registers births and deaths under the National Population Commission.

Improving birth registration rates is seen as a key to achieving UN Sustainable Development Goal 16.9.

“As an important ecosystem partner, we see the need to engage with you to achieve our goals, as well as foster some level of handshake between your work and the national enrolment database, managed by NIMC, for the benefits of the country,” Solomon added.

NITDA Director General Kashifu Inuwa, in his remarks, thanked Nigeria ID4D for its efforts and pledged his agency’s commitment to the partnership, saying digital identity is paramount to attaining Nigeria’s digital economy projections.

This collaboration with NITDA comes after a recent one ID4D entered with the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities to aid more of these vulnerable persons obtain legal and digital identity in Nigeria.

Nigeria ID4D also recently began working with Microsoft to deliver on Nigeria’s digital identity expectations through capacity building and consultations on data protection.

NIMC urged to upgrade infrastructure

As some stakeholders continue to build partnerships toward achieving the goals of digital ID in Nigeria, others are also making proposals aimed to enable the country to reap better fruits from its efforts.

This is the case with the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), an IT advocacy body that has called for a proper review of Nigeria’s digital ID system, so as to give room for improvements and the accomplishment of greater goals.

The proposal is contained in a communiqué issued at the end of their 2022 international conference, which took place early this month in the city of Abeokuta, Ogun State.

“More efforts should be geared towards strengthening the digital identity program,” said the NCS in the communiqué, published by Tech economy. “NIMC must improve on the level of implementation of the digital identity management program by upgrading the digital infrastructure capacity to allow for seamless registration and integration of identity data.” 

The NIMC has faced digital ID registration difficulties in the past due to poor infrastructure, but the Federal Executive Council last year approved funding of around $61 million to help the body overhaul its identity infrastructure.

Article Topics

Africa  |  biometrics  |  birth registration  |  civil registration  |  digital ID  |  identity management  |  national ID  |  National Identity Management Commission (NIMC)  |  National Identity Number (NIN)  |  Nigeria ID4D