The House of Representatives has requested that the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) redesign the National Identity Card so that the bearer’s National Identity Number (NIN) appears on it.
The call came after the House unanimously approved a motion of urgent public importance proposed by a member of the House, Fredrick Agbedi, during the plenary on Wednesday.
Moving the motion titled ‘Need for National Identity Number to be Displayed on National Identity Card,’
According to Agbedi, the NIN is used by many governments to track their citizens’ permanent and temporary residency for work and other purposes.
The lawmaker also noted that the NIN is issued and managed by the NIMC which was established to manage Nigerians’ identity in government institutions, register individuals and introduce general multipurpose cards.
According to him, the NIN, which matches with one’s biometrics, is used for virtually all transactions in Nigeria requiring identity verification.
Agbedi said, “Recently, the commission started issuing a digital ID card which displays only the name, age and nationality of the holder without displaying the NIN number. The Commission failed to include the NIN to the ID card and it has brought untold hardship to the citizens who, in a bid to retrieve their NIN via short codes provided by telecommunications providers, pay for the service.”
Adopting the motion, the lawmakers “urge NIMC to further redesign the national identity cards to carry NIN.
