The Federal Government announced it has approved the creation of Digital IDs for Internally Displace Persons and also a Centre for Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
This was disclosed by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami, on Thursday.
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PRESS STATEMENT
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT APPROVES DIGITAL ID FOR IDPs AND CENTRE FOR DIGITAL INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIPhttps://t.co/Lei1usMzOC#FMoCDEStatement#DigitalNigeria pic.twitter.com/yn2fRWlShU
— Fed. Min. of Comms, Innovation & Digital Economy (@FMCIDENigeria) November 12, 2020
The Minister presented a Draft National Policy on Digital Identity for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Nigeria and a request for the construction of a Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centre at the Federal Executive Council (FEC), which took place on the 11th of November, 2020.
The draft memos were approved by the FEC and will also be in line with the National Digital Economy Policy for a Digital Nigeria.
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“Digital identity is a key requirement for the development of a sustainable digital economy and it is necessary to ensure that every strata of society is able to conveniently obtain Digital IDs, including the IDPs. The Policy seeks to integrate IDPs, regardless of challenges that they face, such as lack of documentation and vulnerability,” the Minister said.
“The Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) shows that millions of citizens fall under the IDP category. IDPs are spread across the 36 States of the Federation and the FCT. Borno State has the highest number of IDPs, while Ondo State has the lowest number at over 1.49 million and over 1,000 people respectively.
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“A Digital ID will enable the IDPs access public, private and humanitarian services and it will also improve internal security. The Policy on Digital Identity for IDPs will be supervised by the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy and implemented by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).
The Minister added that the Centre for Innovation will provide facilities to nurture new ideas and focus on the promotion and development of emerging technologies.
“It will also support in the implementation of the MIT Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration Program (MIT-REAP) in Nigeria . MIT-REAP is an evidence-based, practical approach to strengthening innovation-driven entrepreneurial (IDE) ecosystems.
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“The project will be supervised by the Ministry and implemented by NITDA. It will support the job creation objective of the Federal Government. The Centre will be situated in Abuja.
“NIMC will implement the Policy, while NITDA will manage the Centre based on the policy formulated by the Minister.”
What you should know
Nairametrics reported in July that President Muhammadu Buhari initiated a steering committee to drive the digital identification of Nigerians, which will be chaired by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha.
