All eligible Nigerians are expected to be enrolled into the National Identity Data base for the issuance of National Identification Number, NIN, by December 31, 2014.
Similarly, all government agencies requiring identity verification and authentication services or involved in data capture are also to align their activities with a view to switching over to the National Identity Management Commission, NIMC, infrastructure.
Speaking at the formal launch of the Enrolment Exercise for the issuance of the NIN, President Goodluck Jonathan stated that government remains committed to the accelerated development of the National Identity Management System, NIMS, stressing that the private sector must also rise up to its role, stressing that corporate operators must seize the unique opportunities provided by the concession agreement to make investments in the scheme.
Jonathan, who was registered by the NIMC officials, noted that private sector participation would mean extended optimisation of resources typically devoted to addressing issues of proof of identity across the nation, adding that it would also mean seamless integration and use of a common facility for identity verification and authentication, in both the public and private sectors.
He explained that Nigeria cannot be an exception to the global trend towards Identity Management and Centralised National Identity Database, stressing that there is a growing quest for specific databases and identity verification by several government institutions and private sector organisations in the country.
Jonathan stated that aside from being unwieldy, the cost of operating multiple discordant databases and infrastructure was unsustainable and government cannot afford the continued proliferation of data capture activities as proliferation does not grant any advantage in efficiency, neither does it make good economic sense.
Source: National identity data base for Nigerians (http://nationalmirroronline.net/new/national-identity-data-base-for-nigerians/)