The Federal Government has transferred the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to the Ministry of Interior.
Spokesperson to the Minister of Interior Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, confirmed the development to TheCable on Thursday.
Meanwhile, according to The Guardian, the decision to move the Commission to the Ministry of Interior was to address intractable problems associated with issuance of the National Identification Numbers (NIN), a major requirement for obtaining Nigeria’s passport.
Former president, Muhammadu Buhari, approved the transfer of NIMC to the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy in August 2020.
Then Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Pantami, said the transfer for the critical role of NIMC towards the realisation of the objectives of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy for a Digital Nigeria (NDEPS).
According to statistics from NIMC, as at August 2023, NIMC has issued 102.4 million NINs to Nigerians. Lagos leads as the state with the highest issued NIN.
Of the 102.4 million issued NINs, men have 58.2 million (56.8 per cent), while women have been issued 44.2 million (43. 2 per cent).
The 10 states with the least NIN registrations according to NIMC are Imo with 1.738 million; Akwa Ibom, 1.736 million; Kogi, 1.7 million; Enugu, 1.64 million; Yobe, 1.62 million.
Others are Taraba, 1.4 million; Cross River, 1.1 million; Ekiti, one million; Ebonyi, 818,173 and Bayelsa 642,233.
The new Director-General of NIMC, Abisoye Coker-Odusote, said “under my watch, NIMC will strengthen the operation and regulation of all matters related to national identity, which encompasses services such as NIN enrolment and issuance, national e-ID card issuance, identity verification as well as data harmonisation and authentication.”
“An integrated identity system will strengthen the government’s fiscal management, promote good governance and transparency through inclusivity and social equality,” Coker-Odusote said.
The commission’s mandate is to “establish, own, operate, maintain and manage the national identity database in Nigeria, register persons covered by NIMC act No. 23 of 2007, assign a unique national identification number (NIN) and issue General Multi-purpose Cards (GMPC) to those who are citizens of Nigeria as well as others legally residing within the country.”
