The Nigerian Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Pantami has called on African countries to prioritise data privacy, and protection in securing functional systems.
Professor Pantami made the call when he led the Nigerian delegation to the ID4Africa2022 Augmented General Meeting in Marrakesh, Morroco.
He spoke on the vision of the identity ecosystem in Nigeria, saying “the goal is to have the National Identity Database as the primary database which will be utilised in National planning and the foundational for building a digital economy in the country.”
Professor Pantami described digital as a foundation for building a digital economy.
He said; “There are prerequisites to achieving a digital economy when it comes to citizens’ involvement, The first is Digital, second, Bank accounts, third, Broadband Penetration and finally Smartphones.”
This year’s meeting with the theme; ‘Identity in Context: The Digital Transformation Journey,’ is the highest gathering for the promotion of digital identification in Africa.
The conference brings together policymakers in the African continent’s Digital Identity sector to actively discuss identity matters and set out agenda for foundational Development.
Innovative solutions
The meeting seeks to provide innovative solutions to increase the number of persons with a national number in Africa, issued by a robust and inclusive foundational Identification system, which facilitates their access to various services in line with global best practices.
The Nigerian delegation consists of individuals from both the federal public and private sectors, state government officials, academia, tech industry experts, among others.
Olusola Akintonde
