The Federal Government of Nigeria via the Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, and the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Pantami, has revealed that the country has moved from national identification and registration of citizens via card-based version to strictly digital.
According to Aregbesola, the new direction in citizen identification will include individual DNA samples and the card-based would merely be for convenience.
“The card is just for convenience the real thing is the number you have, with that number you are on the databank, everything about you is there. We are just upgrading it such that your DNA too will be there very soon.
Even if you are in a car, I will know if you are the one in the car with your DNA, it’s already captured. You are already captured, you cannot run away anymore,” he explained.
Explaining further, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Pantami, said the attention of the programme would no longer be cards’ production, but strengthening the digital platform.
“What the chairman is saying now is that we are no more talking about cards, the world has gone digital, so that card is no more. Our priority now is digital ID; it will be attached to your database wherever you are.
So if you can memorize it by heart, wherever you go that central database domiciled with NIMC will be able to provide the number and every of your data will be provided.
Now, our focus is no longer on producing cards, that card is only for record but what is important is that the digital ID and if you notice we have started using the digital ID on international passport. Once you have the digital ID but not the card, we are 100% done with you,” Pantami said.