The Federal Government has supported the enrolment of Nigerians for Digital Identity (ID) across the country and declared September 16 as National Identity Day.
In a statement Dr Isa Pantami, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, on Tuesday in Abuja said:
“The Sept. 16, has been declared as the National Identity Day. Following the approval of the federal government under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria also formally adopted 16.9 as the National Identity Day.
“This year’s edition of the National Identity Day will take place virtually on the same date and will have the theme: Identity for Health, Sustainable Development and Growth.
“We will start by capturing Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Nigeria and will also support the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and other stakeholders to ensure that we make the process of obtaining digital identities swift and secure.
“One of the key objectives of pillar 6 (Soft Infrastructure) of National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) is support for the accelerated implementation of a Digital Identity Programme,”
He explained that digital identification can be an important catalyst for various development initiatives in the continent such as impacting on trade, governance, social protection, financial inclusion, domestic resource mobilisation, as well as security and human rights.
Pantami urged Nigerians to support the development the digital economy by embracing the use of digital identities. thereby encouraging Nigerians to visit NIMC accredited centres for their digital identities.
