‘Make national identity requirement for asset declaration’

The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has asked the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) to make the National Identification Number (NIN) a basic requirement for asset declaration in the country.

At a one-day Code of Conduct Sensitisation Workshop at the NIMC headquarters in Abuja, last Wednesday, the Director General/CEO, NIMC, Engr. Aliyu Aziz, said it is vital for the two agencies to collaborate and make NIN a basic requirement for all public officers, who come forward for asset declaration.

He noted that NIN would allow the Code of Conduct Bureau tie all records of public officers together and automate the process, so that one can search for an individual and his assets with the unique NIN.

Aziz said the intention of the Commission is to work as an ecosystem with all data collecting agencies, save billions of taxpayers’ money, and create a unique national identity database in Nigeria.He noted: “We are currently working with the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) who have made the NIN mandatory for land allocation within the FCT, and this process allows them track assets and transactions.”

The Director General applauded the management of the Code of Conduct Bureau for the visit, and efforts made to sensitise public officers on the codes and ethics of work expected of them.The Deputy Director, Code of Conduct Bureau, Mr. Michael Okwose, promised to inform his boss on the need to include NIN in the data capturing process of public officers at the point of registration.