Nigeria kickstarts presidential committee to boost DPI implementation

Nigeria is moving forward in its plans to transform the country through digital public infrastructure (DPI). On Tuesday, it announced a new presidential committee dedicated to implementing the nation’s DPI goals and its three main pillars – digital identity, financial payments and data exchange.

The Presidential Committee on the Implementation of DPI is chaired by President Bola Tinubu and includes representatives from the federal government, civil service, the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and several ministries. NIMC Director General Abisoye Coker-Odusote pledged that the commission would improve the quality of life for Nigerians through digital infrastructure.

“We acknowledge our full responsibility to contribute meaningfully to advancing economic growth, enhancing citizen engagement, and improving overall quality of life through DPI,” says Coker-Odusote.

Other representatives promised to unify government databases to allow seamless data exchange and solve challenges in identity management and financial payments. NIMC is currently working with the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) to link national ID numbers with bank verification numbers for more secure and efficient transactions, according to NIBSS managing director and CEO Premier Oiwoh.

In April, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) presented draft technical standards for DPI that set out a roadmap for the integration of digital identity and payment systems and data exchange frameworks.

President Tinubu has been promising to expand its digital ID system with additional investments in order to transform the country’s economy. The system, created with the support of the EU and the World Bank, has registered over 90 percent of adults in the country, he announced in September last year. The country plans to make registration for national digital ID compulsory for every citizen.

The expansion of the digital ID system will include the introduction of a Centralized Citizens’ Integrity and Document Authentication System (CCIDAS) as part of the push to strengthen national security.

Nigeria has kickstarted other projects, including a health card linked to the national digital ID and biometrics-based digital verification systems for public servants. In March, the country’s government announced a US$2 billion investment into DPI for improving the delivery of digital services to citizens.

Earlier in May, the Ministry of Interior also shared plans for a centralized system for verifying travel documents.

Article Topics

digital identity  |  digital payments  |  digital public infrastructure  |  identity management  |  National Identity Management Commission (NIMC)  |  Nigeria