The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Sen. George Akume, CON, who was represented by the Honourable Minister of Communication, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, emphasised the importance of the DPI in promoting Nigeria’s digital economy.

According to the SGF: ”DPI is the key to unlocking new avenues for growth, creating jobs, improving public service delivery and empowering our citizens. To achieve this vision, we must establish a well-coordinated and robust governance structure to drive its implementation”.

Director, Information & Public Relations, Segun Imohiosen in a statement disclosed that the SGF urged members of the Committee to work assiduously to provide necessary strategic direction and coordination of the seamless integration of the three core pillars of the DPI, which are Digital Identity, Financial Payments and Data Exchange, to foster innovation and evidence-based decision making in governance.

The Director General, National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Engr. Abisoye Coker-Odusote in her address reiterated the role of NIMC in improving the overall quality of life of Nigerian citizens through a digital publication structure. According to her, ”We acknowledge our full responsibilities to contribute meaningfully to advance economic growth, enhance citizen engagement and improve overall quality of life through DPI. NIMC pledges her full support and cooperation on this noble endeavour, and together we shall work diligently to ensure the implementation of DPI in Nigeria’’.

In his presentation, Dr. Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, Director-General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), harped on the critical importance of unifying government databases to facilitate seamless data exchange and enhance the overall life event experience for Nigerian citizens.

The Managing Director, Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), Mr. Premier Oiwoh also noted the need to build teams to solve local problems on identity management and financial payments.

‘’NIBSS has been working collaboratively with NIMC to verify National Identity Numbers and Bank Verification Numbers to ensure financial Payment and secure transactions by linking their database for more efficient results.

THE FOLLOWING ARE THE MEMBERS OF THE PRESIDENTIAL COMMITTEE ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF DIGITAL PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE (DPI)

1.President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (Chairman)
2.Secretary to the Government of the Federation (Member/Secretariat)
3.Head of Civil Service of The Federation (Member)
4.Attorney General of The Federation and Hon. Minister of Justice (Member)
5.Hon. Minister of Finance (Member)
6.Hon. Minister of Communication, Innovation and Digital Economy(Member)
7.Hon. Minister of Interior (Member)
8.Hon. Minister of Budget and National Planning (Member)
9.Director-General, National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) (Member)
10.Director-General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) (Member)

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In a statement on Saturday, the NIMC confirmed the problem, which is attributed to ongoing maintenance.

“The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) wishes to inform the general public that its NIN verification Service (NVS) is temporarily unavailable due to the maintenance service being carried out by one of the Commission’s network service providers,” the statement said.

“The NIMC wants to assure the public that verification and authentication services would be restored once the maintenance is concluded.

“The Commission apologizes for any inconvenience this might cause our esteemed customers, as all hands are on deck to ensure speedy restoration.

“Meanwhile, the public can make use of the alternative Tokenisation verification platform.”

The affected NIMC portal allows third parties to confirm the identity of customers.

Apart from telecoms firms, financial institutions and government agencies also rely on the service.

The post SIM Swaps Suspended As NIMC Portal Is ‘Temporarily Unavailable’ appeared first on Daily Dates Nigeria.

Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, made this known through a statement jointly signed by Ikechukwu Adinde, director of public affairs at the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and Kayode Adegoke, Head of Corporate Communications at the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).

According to the statement, the extension was granted after a virtual meeting between Pantami, Adeolu Akande, NCC chairman; Umar Garba Dambatta, executive vice president of NCC, and Aliyu Azeez, Director-General of NIMC.

This development is coming two days before the May 6 deadline earlier announced by the Federal Government, making it the fifth time the NIN-SIM linkage exercise will be extended.

The Federal Government said it has registered 54 million Nigerians with an estimated 190 million mobile numbers have obtained their NIN.

It said the extension was granted based on stakeholders’ requests and to give Nigerians more time to engage in the exercise.

“The postponement of the deadline was also based on the request by stakeholders for an extension till 30th of June in order to make it easier for all citizens and legal residents to register,” the statement said.

“Significant progress has been made in the NIN-SIM verification process. For example, almost 54 million people have obtained their NIN and this can translate to up to 190 million mobile numbers, since empirical evidence suggests that each unique NIN maps to 3 to 4 phone lines.”

The government said NIN is important for accessing public services in line with sections 27 and 29 of the NIMC Act, 2007.

It said it is similar to the social security number and the national insurance number in the United States and the United Kingdom respectively.

“The much awaited Android enrolment system is now ready for deployment and this has the potential to significantly accelerate the speed and ease of enrolments,” it said.

“Furthermore, the telecom providers and other enrolment agents have also opened several centres across the country to make it easier for eligible citizens and residents to obtain and link their NINs.

“The Federal Government has approved the extension as part of its effort to make it easier for its citizens and residents to obtain the NIN and it is important to take advantage of the extension.

“Dr Pantami wishes to thank Nigerians for their patience and compliance with the Federal Government’s directive on the NIN-SIM registration exercise. He again reiterated government’s commitment to continually taking decisions aimed at easing the pains of the citizens with regard to issues related to NIN and SIM registration.”

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According to MTN’s Senior Manager, External Relations, Funso Aina, the Mobile telecommunication company has started registering people for the NIN at some of its centers in Lagos, Port Harcourt, and Abuja.

MTN assured that the number of locations would increase with time, noting that MTN had invested in acquiring devices aligned with NIMC standards.

Aina said: “We have commenced enrollment for NIN at a limited number of locations.

“This number will rise as certification and other dependencies on the Nigerian Identity Management Commission for the roll-out of such locations are addressed.

“We have applied for and secured NIMC license for enrollment. Additionally, we have invested in acquiring devices aligned with NIMC standard.”

“We continue to work with NIMC, NCC, and other stakeholders towards resolution of issues which are outside our control, but are nevertheless key dependencies for further roll-out.”

Meanwhile, the Association of Licensed Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria Chairman, Gbenga Adebayo, has also assured that every operator would start NIN enrollment soon.

Adebayo disclosed that operators had commenced preparatory arrangements in regard of procurement, licensing, and deployment.

He said: “There are still administrative issues that are now being concluded.

“There were procurement issues which were taking a little bit of time to start, but once operators start, we’ll ensure that the enrollment would commence and be wrapped with full speed.”

The post NIMC: MTN Begins NIN Registration In Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt appeared first on Daily Dates Nigeria.

The commission in a tweet wrote that fraudsters may use such apps to harvest people’s NIN and Bank Verification Number.

“The app was not created by NIMC or the Federal Government of Nigeria. It is run by fraudsters who are currently harvesting people’s NINs and BVNs by default,” NIMC said.

NIMC, therefore, advised people to protect their data and stop disclosing personal information to unauthorised platforms.

Meanwhile, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami, had on Monday morning said NIMC has launched a mobile app to link seven SIM cards to one NIN.

Pantami who spoke during an interview said his Ministry: “…developed an app, when you go online, you will see it. That app, as long as you have your NIMC number, you will only download it without visiting any office.

“You will be able to link up to seven SIM numbers to only one. I have already downloaded the app, launched the app, and already linked some of my numbers immediately. This is part of digitalisation.”

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