Adequate funding, political will key to successful national identity coverage ― NIMC

THE National Identity Management Commission(NIMC) on Tuesday, said without adequate funding and political will, Nigeria’s national identity programme may not succeed.

Director-General NIMC Engr. Aliyu Aziz stated this while speaking at the 6th General Assembly of the Northern Traditional Rulers Council (NTRC) held in Kaduna.

He said: “like any government reform, political will and strong leadership are required to implement the national identity project. Without strong political leadership and commitment, financial resources and stakeholder collaboration, the national identity programme will not be successful and sustained.”

In his paper titled “Importance of National Identity to Nation Building,” the DG explained that all modern economic services are done digitally and rely on good identification to promote economic growth and opportunities.

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He noted that for the country to enhance governance, help its people rise out of poverty, restore growth and participate in the digital economy, there is the need for a unique digital identification platform that is linked to functional identity registries for accessing services.

While explaining the importance of national identity to Nigeria’s existence and growth, he stated: “There is a strong correlation between inclusive identification and nation-building and this is central ineffective delivery of important services to the people.”

He identified poor funding, inadequate mobilisation and limited awareness, among others as some of the constraints to achieving the national identity project.

To this end, the DG appealed to the royal fathers to help with awareness and mobilisation as well as assisting their subjects with source documents to enable them to enrol for the National Identification Number (NIN).