Amendment To NIMC Act To Harness Potential Of Industrial Revolution

The Director General of the National Identity Management Commission in Nigeria, NIMC, Mrs Abisoye Coker-Odusote says the proposed amendment to the NIMC Act of 2007 is significant in helping the country realise the enormous benefits of the fourth industrial revolution.

Odusote said this at a one-day roundtable workshop on the proposed amendment of the NIMC Act in Abuja, Nigeria.

The NIMC noted that “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is committed to pushing the frontiers of our digital economy through a robust and inclusive foundational identity system that will in no small measure reposition the digital economy of the country and enable Nigerians reap the enormous benefits of the fourth industrial revolution,”She said.

According to her, “the NIMC is mandated to create and manage a centralised national identity database that enables provision of a secure, verifiable identity and enables authentic verification of the identity of registrable individuals anywhere in the country, that facilitates service delivery from the government and the private sector.”

Abisoye said that “the not so often emphasized relevance of the national identity database, which is the core of the NIMC Act, is its significance to national security and how interwoven that is with all aspects of our collective existence as a country.”

“It is therefore imperative that the process of carrying out amendments to such an important legislation as the NIMC Act involves robust engagements all critical stakeholders in the country, in our quest to reposition the NIMC for the future,” she explained.

According to the Director General, the proposed amendment is among a series of innovative and sustainable legal reforms being undertaken by the current administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu through the Nigeria Digital Identification for Development Project, NDID4D.

The reforms include amendments to the cybercrimes and cybersecurity Acts, electronic transaction Act and the NPC Act.

“These are indications of the Nigerian Government’s commitment to implementing the ‘the Digital Transformation Strategy For Africa (2020-2030) commissioned by the African Union, which the President Chairs,” She said.

Abisoye urged stakeholders to collaborate with NIMC saying “at NIMC, we do not only want to go fast, we also want to go far in ensuring Nigeria’s national identity database is repositioned through sustainable reforms that will drive a wholistic, sustainable and people centered socio-economic development. This can only happen with everyone being enrolled and issued a verifiable National Identification Number (NIN) and no one is left behind.”

These were made known in a statement by Technical Adviser on Media & Communications to the DG NIMC, Mr.Ayodele Babalola.

Mercy Chukwudiebere