FG Invests N30bn On National ID Scheme

The Federal Government has approved N30.066 billion for a new national identity management system, Director-General, National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Mr. Chris Onyemenam, has said.

Onyemenam disclosed this at an interview with newsmen, yesterday in Abuja.

“What government approved is N30.066 billion and the approval is intended to accelerate the rollout of the backend of the national identity management system.

“About five billion naira of that amount is already part of the 2011 appropriation act.”

Onyemenam said the remaining part of the money would be part of the 2012 and 2013 fiscal year budget proposal.

This, he said, would be subject to review, adding that it was a laudable project that would go a long way to sanitise the identification system.

He added that government’s approval of fund could be well taken to mean an interest in helping to implement a project that had transformational potential.

“President Goodluck Jonathan’s position as you know is transformation of the national economy for the citizenry both in terms of attitudinal disposition, employment creation, creation of economic opportunities and also creation of conducive environment,” he said.

Explaining the new strategies of the commission, he said that the new cards to be issued would have facilities that could be verifiable unlike the former one that had no verification facility.

He added that the expected identity card would be like a smart card with a database that would be readable when slotted into any card acceptable device or reader.

“We are saying that this is a new way of confirming the identity of individuals that has not happened in the past.

“It is in this sense that we are saying there’s a shift away from the old way of doing things to the new way of doing things.

“The new way of doing things is the new paradigm and that is what we mean when we say we are moving from a focus on identity card issuance to identity management system.”

Onyemenam assured of the commission’s commitment to ensuring effective identity management system in the country.

In a related development, the NIMC has said that it would complete the National Identity Management system by 2013.

The NIMC boss who made this known on Sunday in Abuja said that the system was designed in such a way that all government and non-governmental organisations with intention of building mini identification systems would tap into.

He said that the cards as well as the database would be designed such that updates could be made as required by government agencies desirous of taking advantage of the system.

Onyemenam said that it had become pertinent that all government databases spoke the same language and that was why the harmonisation of all identities became necessary.

“That is why we have a three-year plan period that by December 2013, we would have completed the harmonisation and integration process.

“We would make sure that all existing government databases speak the same language. As we say in our popular comments – we should all be singing from the same page of the hymn book.

“If this had been in place, it would then become unnecessary for most government establishments to begin to try to build their own mini databases, verification infrastructure, identity card and so on and so forth.”

Onyemenam decried what he termed the proliferation of identity management platforms, stressing that it was because the emphasis had always been on card issuance, rather than identity management.

he director-general said that after the harmonization of identity management, it would become easy for a bank teller or anybody to know the identity of the person before him or her and assist in minimising the risk of identity theft.

He said that it would be possible to authenticate and verify a person’s identity as the database would be web-based and if the person already had his entry in the database; it would be easy to authenticate.

Onyemenam added that information on the card was digitally and electronically stored and as such one could assert his identity wherever he went and in any transactional relationship.

“It’s digitally electronically stored and this is a simple business rule that will be extended across other agencies and private institutions as well.

He said that what was in use in the past was a 2-D barcode that did not have extensive application because it was not intended to.

He stressed that the commission would have a database that could be exploited either through web services or through the use of the card.

“The card which has a chip on it has provision for other government agencies to upload their data.