NIMC gives conditions for banks to manage its N30b allocation

[TheNation]

The Nigerian Identity [/size]Management Com[/font][/size]mission (NIMC) has given banks some conditions before they will be allowed to access its N30billion budgetary allocation.

[/size]       One hurdle they must scale is that they must give financial support to the consortia of firms appointed by the Federal Government to source data for the national identity management system.The Federal Government has allocated N30billion for the operations of the commission in its N2012 budget.[/size]

Speaking to The Nation yesterday, the Director-General, Nigerian Identity Management Commission, Chris Onyemenan, said the Deposit Money Banks would only be considered to take custody of the money, if they are ready to do business with the firms the Federal Government appointed to collect data for the operations of the identity card management scheme.[/font]

[/size]Onyemenan said the government has appointed two consortia- Charms and Onesecured Card - to handle the project, adding that the banks need to provide financial support for the two concessionaires to enable them to serve as the Front End Partners to the project.

[/size]His words: " These concessionaires need huge financial support to succeed in the task of collecting, and analysing data needed for the implementation of the national identity card projects. That support can only come from the banks. When the Federal Government approved N30billion for our activities in the 2012 budget, the banks wanted us to open accounts with them, but I told them that we can only do business with them if they do business with our concessionaires."

[/size]He said the concessionaires were required to bear the risks in relation to the design, financing, construction, maintenance, operation, management and development of the project, as well as the registration of centres for the purpose of the national identity card project. He said they need strong financial support from the banks.

[/size]He said the concessionaires are responsible for the management and operations of the assets, collection and returning of certain proportion of the services that would accrue from the use of the data acquired in the course of providing National Identity Database(NID), adding that when banks are ready to support the concessionaires, they would definitely get business to do from the commission. The NIMC’s boss said the government engaged the two private companies because it believed that the idea would enhance growth.

[/size]"The hiring of the concessionaires is part of the Public, Private-Partnership (PPP) arrangements of the government. Primarily, the project is supposed to be handled by the Infrastructural Regulatory Construction Commission (IRCC), but it was later given to the consortia to encourage growth," he stated.

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