Nigerians will have to pay for the new multipurpose national identity card due to the government’s limited revenue, the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) announced on Friday.
This was said by Dr Peter Iwegbu, NIMC’s Head of Card Management Services, at a 2-day roundtable discussion for online editors that took place in Lagos.
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NIMC explains reasons why Nigerians will pay for the new multipurpose national ID card
According to Iwegbu, the payment was made to guarantee that it was made for only those who required it. It was decided, he said, to avoid making the same mistake as previous attempts to give away free physical cards to Nigerians, which many of them failed to collect.
Iwegbu stated that although the NIMC had previously attempted to provide more than two million cards for free, many of them had not yet been collected.
“The government’s limited revenue is also a major factor in the decision to make Nigerians pay for the new ID card,” he said.
Iwegbu clarified that this time around, the government was unable to provide the necessary funds for the ID card creation.
The concept of a free national ID card did not work out well in the past, according to Lanre Yusuf, the Director of Information Technology at NIMC.
According to Yusuf, the new ID card is a post-paid Identity Card, meaning that i Nigerianswill need to pa kr doest abefore requesting one, a person must need the card.
“To get the new national ID card, Nigerians will need to make a payment, select a pickup location, and then collect their card from the chosen location,” said Yusuf. “The government has implemented programmes to make the card accessible to less privileged Nigerians who cannot afford it but require it to access government support.”
“This initiative demonstrates the government’s commitment to inclusivity and equality, “ Yusuf said.
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New multipurpose national ID card to be rollout soon
He mentioned that prototype test cards for the versatile ID cards had already been received and that the rollout was anticipated to occur shortly.
Yusuf stated that Nigerians may request and pick up their cards from any bank branch because NIMC is partnering with banks nationwide to provide a smooth experience.
“NIMC is working with banks across the country, which will make it possible for people to walk into any bank closest to them and request the card.
“The new national ID card is a multipurpose card that can serve the purpose of identity verification, payments, and even government services,” he said.
The card, which will be powered by AfriGO, was introduced in collaboration with the Nigeria Inter-bank Settlement System (NIBSS) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
All government services and interventions across several Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) will be able to use the card.