Nigeria issues 5M more digital IDs in six months, plans special cards for the elderly

Nigeria’s National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has revealed that it enrolled 5,935,362 people for the National Identification Number (NIN) from January to June, with the overall number of digital IDs issued now slightly above 101 million. This development comes at a time when the country’s federal government is planning to design a special ID card for the elderly to ease their access to government and private sector services.

NIMC director urges more NIN enrollments

As the digital ID issuance figures grow, NIMC Director General Aziz Aliyu has urged more Nigerians to show up for the NIN enrollment, saying the digital ID will enable easy access to services, especially financial inclusion.

Speaking through a representative at a summit in Lagos recently, Aliyu said identity, connectivity and financial inclusion, are crucial in advancing the country’s digital economy ambitions, according to Guardian.

Per NIMC data, of the 101,013,279 NINs which have been issued, 56.76 percent of them are held by men while women hold the remaining 43.57 percent. The statistics also show the State of Lagos has the highest number of NIN holders with over 11 million, while Kano follows with 8.9 million and Kaduna with 6.2 million. Bayelsa State has the least number of NINs issued with 635,277.

Nigeria needs to reach 148 million people with the NIN by next year as part of a World Bank condition within the framework of the Nigeria Digital ID for Development (Nigeria ID4D) initiative.

The NIMC said recently that is intensifying its efforts to boost NIN enrollment to meet this target.

Idea of special IDs for senior citizens hatched

As efforts to popularize the NIN continue, the federal government is also mulling parallel government-supported ID undertakings.

Recently, a consultation meeting which took place in Abuja focused on how government, deposit banks and other financial institutions can collaborate on the introduction of a special cards for senior citizens, reports Punch.

The stakeholders discussed the project, challenges, possibilities and perspectives.

The director general of the National Senior Citizens Centre, Emem Omokaro, underscored the importance of such a card, saying it will be “a multi-purpose card that would serve as a vehicle for financial inclusion, conducive economic and social enterprise empowerment instrument and access to age-friendly physical environment outcomes for Nigeria’s senior citizens.”

It will be designed to serve the triple function of a national identity card, bank card, and senior citizens’ card.

Article Topics

Africa  |  biometric enrollment  |  biometrics  |  digital ID  |  National Identity Management Commission (NIMC)  |  National Identity Number (NIN)  |  Nigeria