The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) says
Nigerians will have to pay for the new multipurpose national identity card due
to limited government revenue.
Peter Iwegbu, head of card management services at NIMC,
spoke on Thursday at a two-day press conference in Lagos.
Iwegbu said paying for the identity card would ensure it is
produced for only those who needed it.
He said the decision was made to avoid repeating the mistake
of past efforts to issue physical cards to Nigerians for free, which many did
not collect.
The NIMC official said over two million cards were produced
in a previous attempt to issue free national ID cards by the commission
He said many of them have not been collected till date.
“Before we stopped due to funding, we produced more than two
million cards but a lot of them are still in our office, people were not able
to pick them up because they didn’t need it,” Iwegbu said.
Aside from low collection, Iwegbu said the government could
not fund the production of ID cards due to limited revenue.
“The government’s limited revenue is also a major factor in
the decision to make Nigerians pay for the new ID card,” he added.
He said NIMC is also
working with banks across the country, which will make it possible for people
to walk into any bank closest to them and request the card.
‘GOVERNMENT HAS MADE
PLANS FOR LESS PRIVILEGED PERSONS WHO CAN’T AFFORD IT’
Also speaking, Lanre Yusuf, director of information
technology at NIMC, said the idea of a free national ID card did not turn out
well in the past.
Yusuf described the new ID card as a post-paid identity
card, which means that individuals must need the card before initiating a
request for it.
“To get the new national ID card, Nigerians will need to
make a payment, select a pickup location, and then collect their card from the
chosen location,” the director said.
“The government has implemented programmes to make the card
accessible to the less privileged Nigerians who cannot afford it but require it
to access government support.
“This initiative demonstrates the government’s commitment to
inclusivity and equality.”
Yusuf also said the multipurpose ID cards are expected to
launch soon, with sample test cards already received.
“The new national ID card is a multipurpose card that can
serve the purpose of identity verification, payments, and even government
services,” he said.
In April, the federal government unveiled plans to launch a
multipurpose national identity card.
The card, powered by AfriGO, is in partnership with the
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigeria Inter-bank Settlement System.
The card is enabled for all government intervention and
services across multiple ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs).
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