Following the challenges faced by residents of Plateau State in enrolling for the National Identity Number as a result of few enrolment centres, Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong, says he has secured a registration licence for Plateau State Government.
The Governor’s Director of Press and Public Affairs, Macham Makut, in a statement on Sunday, said the licence granted to Plateau State by the Federal Government is for one year and it is subject to renewal upon satisfactory performance during the period.
According to him, the approval which was conveyed to the Governor by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy through the Director-General of the National Identity Management Commission, Aliyu Aziz, indicates that the Plateau State Government can now participate in the registration of residents of the state into the national identity database in line with the provisions of the NIMC Act and other guidelines issued.
Reacting to the development, Lalong said he was excited that the State secured the approval which will not only reduce the hardship faced by citizens in obtaining the NIN number due to the few centres available in the State but will also help the State ensure that all its citizens are captured into the national identity ecosystem.
The Governor said, “Now that Plateau State has been granted the licence to provide data capture and enrolment services for the issuance of the National Identity Number, we are going to ensure that we create centres in all the 17 Local Government Areas and other strategic towns in order to ensure seamless, quick and efficient enrollment of all our citizens and other Nigerians residing in the State.”
He, therefore, directed the Commissioner for Science and Technology to immediately work with the Plateau State Information & Communication Technology Development Agency to further liaise with NIMC towards finalising arrangements and acquiring the necessary equipment for the successful implementation of the programme.
Lalong also mandated them to ensure that arrangement for suitable facilities are made and training of requisite manpower is done in record time in order to guarantee excellence enrollment of eligible persons within the State into the Nigerian Digital Ecosystem.
