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A National Identity Number (NIN) enrollment centre for members of the Diplomatic Corps has been set up at the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Abuja following the approval of the Nigerian government.
‘The desk will be set up by Tuesday, 19th of January, 2021,” said Dr. Femi Adeluyi, Technical Assistant to the Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, in a statement issued at the weekend in Abuja.
The NIN is a set of unique numbers issued by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to citizens who have registered with it. The NIMC captures the digital identity of all citizens and legal residents then issues them the NIN as their unique digital identity.
The NIN is part of government’s national strategy to build database on all citizens for enhanced economic planning. It consists of 11 non- intelligible numbers randomly chosen and assigned to an individual at the completion of enrolment into the National Identity Database (NIDB).
The provisions of the NIMC Act 23, 2007, include the enforcement of the mandatory use of the NIN and the application of appropriate sanctions and penalties on defaulters as provided under Section 28 of the NIMC Act.
According to Adeluyi in the statement, the NIN centre is being set up based on the request of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, so as to simplify the process for diplomats.
He added: “This enrolment centre will provide support for members of the Diplomatic Corps and will be managed by the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, through the National Identity Management Commission.
“The National Identity Number is mandatory for diplomats who will reside in Nigeria for a continuous period of two years or more.”
“It is also mandatory for all other lawful residents in the country as stated in Section 16 of the National Identity Management Commission Act 2007”
“The Law has made it mandatory for Nigerians and legal residents to obtain a NIN since 2007. However, compliance has been low, until recently. The Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy remains committed to creating an enabling environment for all Nigerians and legal residents to obtain their Digital Identity Number.”
