The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Pantami, has disclosed that as of last week, the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has issued 70 million National Identification Numbers (NIN) to qualified Nigerians.
Pantami disclosed this in Abuja, Monday, while declaring open the 3.5GHz Spectrum Auction for 5G network in Nigeria.
The Minister, who stressed that identity management was critical to 5G network in the country, said, “as at last week, the management of NIMC told me they have hit 70 million NIN issued.”
According to him, following the directive handed him by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2020 to identify all Nigerians because of the escalating security challenges, the ministry moved and the NIN enrolment got a boost immediately.
“If you recall, we started around December 2020, and as at then, the figure was around 40 million NIN, which was attained in about 13 years, but as at today and within a year, NIMC has raised that figure to 70 million. Meaning that within the last one year, about 30 million NIN has been issued to Nigerians,” Pantami said.
Pantami, while commending the NIMC management, disclosed that the 30 million NIN issued was attained by the commission despite several challenges, especially finance.
“No funding has been granted NIMC yet. Though President Buhari has approved a major funding, it has not been released to NIMC. But, I can assure you that it will be release soon,” Pantami said.
