The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has announced that Nigerians will have to pay to obtain the new multipurpose National Identity Card, as the Tinubu-led administration says it cannot finance free card distribution due to limited revenue.
Speaking at a two-day roundtable for journalists in Lagos, Peter Iwegbu, NIMC’s Head of Card Management Services, stated that the decision to charge for the cards was made to address inefficiencies from past efforts where millions of free cards went uncollected, NAN reported.
“The government’s limited revenue is also a major factor in the decision to make Nigerians pay for the new ID card,” he said
He added that the payment system ensures the cards are issued only to individuals who truly need them, preventing waste and inefficiency.
Lanre Yusuf, NIMC’s IT Director, described the new card as a “post-paid identity card,” where individuals must pay, choose a pickup location, and then collect their card from that designated location.
Acknowledging the financial burden on citizens, Yusuf noted that programmes have been implemented to assist less privileged Nigerians who require the card to access government services and support.
The new card powered by AfriGO in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System, is a multipurpose card designed for identity verification, payments, and accessing government services.
NIMC has partnered with banks to streamline the process, enabling Nigerians to request and collect their ID cards from any bank branch nationwide.
“The new national ID card is a multipurpose card that can serve the purpose of identity verification, payments, and even government services,” he said.
It will be recall that in recent months there were allegations of data manipulations by the commission. In August, West Africa Weekly reported that the commission was accused of deliberately altering citizens’ dates of birth on their National Identity Cards and subsequently charging N15,000 for corrections.
Also a report by TheCable in March, revealed that a circular issued by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to its verification service agents compromised the sensitive information of over 100 million Nigerians to unlicensed parties and profiteers.
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