NIMC seeks political commitment, ample funding in identity management

Except there is political commitment backed by adequate funding, the national identity programme may not succeed, the Director-General of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Aliyu Aziz, has warned.

Speaking yesterday during the 6th General Assembly of the Northern Traditional Rulers Council (NTRC) at the Arewa House, Kaduna, Aziz said, “like any government reform, political will and strong leadership are required to implement the national identity project.”

In his paper entitled ‘Importance of National Identity to Nation Building’, the engineer stated: “Without strong political leadership and commitment, financial resources and stakeholder collaboration, the national identity programme will not be successful and sustained.”

While looking up to traditional rulers for support and fatherly advice, he informed the gathering that “all modern economic services are done digitally” to promote economic growth and opportunities.

“For Nigeria to enhance governance, help its people rise out of poverty, restore growth and participate in the digital economy, we need a unique digital identification platform that is linked to functional identity registries for accessing services,” he stated.

Explaining the importance of national identity to the country’s existence and growth, he stated: “There is a strong correlation between inclusive identification and nation building, and this is central in effective delivery of important services to the people.”

He said proving ‘who is who’ is critical to accessing services physically and electronically, including “identifying the targeted beneficiaries of a programme, project or scheme.”

According to Aziz, a robust digital identity for Nigeria will lead to access to finance, gender equality and empowerment, access to basic health and educational services as well as child protection.

Other benefits include migration and labour market opportunities, reduction in the cost of governance, better government service delivery and improvement in the enforcement of law and order, leading to improved security.