One of Nigeria’s leading telecommunication service providers, 9Mobile, has revealed that it has the mandate from the federal government to register at least 10 million people in the rural areas in the national identity management enrolment scheme.
The telecoms firm said that the exercise is part of its support to the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) in its current national identity enrolment scheme. 9Mobile in its statement made this known at a stakeholders engagement workshop and capacity building interactive session organised in collaboration with the NIMC in Abuja.
According to NAN, the workshop was organised to examine the capabilities and challenges in the NIMC service delivery process to proffer solutions to identified challenges.
What the top executives of 9Mobile are saying
Speaking at the occasion, the Chief Executive Officer, 9mobile, Juergen Peschel, praised the management of NIMC for supporting the workshop to engage stakeholders in the industry.
He said, “9mobile will continue to play a pivotal role in the country’s national identity management enrollment scheme, especially in the rural areas where we have the mandate to register 10 million individuals.
“To ensure that we meet up with the target, we are constantly expanding our capacity in terms of infrastructure and technology to ensure that all Nigerians are enrolled.”
Also, in his own remarks at the event, the Director of Sales, 9mobile, Oluwatosin Olulana, stressed the need for ongoing engagement with stakeholders to strengthen the nation’s identity management process.
He said, “9mobile will be sharing resources with NIMC to improve the process of service delivery. In addition, mobile connectivity will also be made available for the next six months to aid the virtual working process.
“We are currently arranging to provide up to 20Mbps fiber connectivity for NIMC office use. We believe providing the necessary infrastructure will enable the commission to deliver on its mandate in the interest of the country.’’
What the Director-General of NIMC is saying
On his part, the Director-General of NIMC, Aliyu Aziz, who was represented by Dr Umar Ba, restated the commission’s commitment to fostering the development of a robust identity system in Nigeria and as well called for collaboration among stakeholders.
He said, “NIMC cannot do it alone, and as such, we will continue to seek for collaboration from stakeholders and particularly from 9mobile, one of our most trusted allies.’’
What you should know
In a related development, the NIMC had earlier in September, announced its partnership with telecommunications services provider, Airtel Nigeria, to intensify the campaign on the need for Nigerians to embrace digital identity (ID) enrolment.
The national identity management is expected to help accelerate economic development as well as boost safety and security of all citizens and residents across the country.
The federal government had emphasized on national identity registration by all Nigerians and residents with an insistence that all National Identification Number (NIN) registration must be linked with Subscriber Identity Module (SIM).
