The House of Representatives has urged the National Identity Management Commission, NIMC, to redesign the national identity card in a way that the National Identity Number, NIN, of the bearer is written on it.
The call was made after a member of the House, Fredrick Agbedi, moved a unanimous adoption of a motion of urgent public importance.
In the motion titled ‘Need to Have National Identity Number Displayed on the National Identity Card,’ Agbedi explained that it is paramount that the NIN is displayed as a means of tracking the citizens’ permanent and temporary residency for work and other purposes.
The lawmaker stated further that NIN is issued and managed by the NIMC which was established to manage Nigerians’ identity in government institutions.
He explained that the NIN, which matches 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.”
