Obaseki collates data, to issue identity numbers to Edo citizens

Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, has said his administration is collating data of residents in the state to help government in planning and ensuring delivery of essential services to the people.

According to media aide to the governor, Crusoe Osagie, Obaseki disclosed this when he received the template of the pilot phase of the Edo Identification Scheme in Government House, Benin City.

The governor noted: “As a government, we must have data and information of citizens in the state for whom we are supposed to provide services.  As a state, we now need a single source of truth where there is a common denominator that links people and services together.

“For us, this is very significant because it’s happening everywhere in the world. I am very excited that we are linking this to the National Identification Number (NIN) protocol so that whatever we are doing is linked to a single source of identification.

“We are very anxious about seeing the pilot rollout. The whole idea is to see that the five million or more residents in Edo get to be identified and have a source of identity for which the government can get data to plan for them.”

He said the government was looking forward to executing the project within the 90 days period.

“I hope to see the reports on this pilot phase so that by the third quarter of this year we should start a full rollout,” he said.

Earlier, the Technology Transformation Lead at Greenfield Consultancy and Allied Service Ltd, Mr. Joshua Ugonna, who presented the template, said the scheme would provide the government the opportunity to plan for its citizens.