A total of 39.3million Nigerians have fully registered for their National Identity Numbers (NINs), the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has said.
The NIMC General Manager Legal Services, Compliances and Regulatory, hajia Hadiza Ali Dagabana who disclosed this in an interview with Daily Trust in office in Abuja, also added that every Nigerian is eligible for the issuance of the NIN free of charge irrespective of their age.
The unique identity number is compulsory for every Nigerian and legal residents in order to do access services in the country, hajia Dagabana said.
“Whether you have it on a piece of paper or you can’t even remember it you should have the ability to be verified in the national identity database at any given time, she added.
Explaining further about the NIN, she said the NIN slip which Nigerians identify as temporary is not temporary as the NIN is written on the document.
She said the National Identification Number does not have expiry date, adding that it is only when a person dies that the number will be rested in a soft database for such person.
“By that way, we will be able to determine the living people in the country and with that number government can plan effectively for better service delivery,’’ she said.
She also noted that for the under-16 registration, parents and guardians must present their NIN and their children’s birth certificate before the children or wards could be enrolled and issued NIN
. “Currently we are registering from 164 locations in Nigeria both our offices and some special centres where we are collaborating with federal and state governments, including some service providers.
“We have our officials there to enroll Nigerians and it is free of charge. When you enroll, the first thing you get is the National Identification Number (NIN),’’ she said.
Hajia Dagabana who also the NIMC Secretary reiterated that what is compulsory is the NIN, not the card.
‘’Nigerians pay when they renew their ATM cards or they are replace lost ones, so why are we saying we shouldn’t charge for identity card replacement or renewal of the card which carries even more features than the ATM card’’, she said.
She said the cost of printing a card is huge, and that government can’t print for every Nigerian except on request.
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