Federal Government has declared September 16 as National Identity Day, following its approval of enrolment of Nigerians for Digital Identity across the country.
This was announced by Dr. Isa Pantami, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, through a statement signed by his spokesman, Mrs. Uwa Suleiman.
Announcing the new special day, he said, “The Sept. 16, has been declared as the National Identity Day. Following the approval of the federal government under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria also formally adopted 16.9 as the National Identity Day.
“This year’s edition of the National Identity Day will take place virtually on the same date and will have the theme: Identity for Health, Sustainable Development and Growth.”
He further said, “We will start by capturing Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Nigeria and will also support the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and other stakeholders to ensure that we make the process of obtaining digital identities swift and secure.
“One of the key objectives of pillar 6 (Soft Infrastructure) of National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) is support for the accelerated implementation of a Digital Identity Programme.”
He also reiterated the point made by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa as to the importance of a digital ID to digital economy platforms. He also explained that digital identification can be an important catalyst for various development initiatives in the continent such as impacting on trade, governance, social protection, financial inclusion, domestic resource mobilisation, as well as security and human rights.
Nigerians can now visit NIMC accredited centres for their digital identities.
