By Jacinta Nwachukwu —
The Director General, National Identity
Aziz told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Abuja that Lagos and Kaduna so far had 4,247,088 and 1,802,931, respectively.
According to him, Ebonyi and Bayelsa States recorded low turnout with 353,700 and 318,233, respectively.
He urged those yet to be registered to do so at any NIMC enrolment centre as “National Identity Number (NIN) is a prerequisite for one to obtain any services from government or private organisations.
“Despite the declaration and approval by the Federal Executive Council for the commencement of the mandatory use of the NIN this January, there is still no drastic improvement in the registration.
“The commencement of the mandatory use of NIN means that all government agencies as well as private agencies will make the NIN a prerequisite for providing services to citizens and legal residents.
“Agencies like the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigerian Immigration Services (NIS), Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), as well as embassies are already demanding the NIN prior to the January 1, 2019 proclamation,”he said.
Aziz also assured that the enrolment process would be easily accessible to all with the commencement of the Digital Identity Ecosystem.
He added that with the Digital Identity Ecosystem, all data collecting agencies as well as licensed private operators would be able to enrol and send data back to NIMC.
He, therefore, advised states with low enrolment figures to persuade their residents to participate in the exercise.
According to him, the exercise is ongoing at all enrolment centres across the local government areas and special centres in the country.
He also assured the public that the process was “not to inconvenience or witch-hunt anyone, rather, it is of great benefit to all.
“As it will create an avenue for proper identification and accessibility to services from government and non-governmental agencies,” he said.(NAN)