News
Hamonization of Identity Data Between Other Agencies & NIMC in Progress- Lanre Osibona
By Chukwuemeka Fred Agbata
All forward looking nationalities are powering their economies with technology and Nigeria cannot be an exception, if she wants to compete favourably in the comity of nations.
I was recently with Lanre Osibona, Senior Special Assistant to the President on ICT and he shared some of the strategies and policies that the government is putting in place, to ensure that Nigeria, is indeed, positioned to become a nation, powered with technology.
Lanre stated that, the big area that the government is looking at, is the trend word going around, which is that, ‘data is more valuable that crude’. “One of the biggest efforts of this administration, is to make sure we digitize government data, hence, we coined the phrase, smart digital economy, smart Nigeria’, he stated. He stressed that government is the biggest repository of data in the country. “Citizens identification, government processes, government data, government land registry, farm information, etc. We need to bring these into a digital form”, he emphasized.
Lanre stressed that the National Identity Management Commission, NIMC, has been tasked by an Act, to identify all Nigerians, kicked off about 10 years ago, but there has been a lot of issues with the delivery by the Commission. This, he said, gave rise to other Agencies to start pursuing their own identification processes, such as the BVN, the FRSC for Drivers License, NCC, INEC, etc. He said it is time for us to now harmonize all these into one. He explained that the process of harmonization has already commenced and over 23 million have been harmonized quietly without spending a kobo.
On the strategy adopted, Lanre stated that one of the strategies to adopt in capturing the 80% of the rural population, is to register them as they access government services. This, he said has not commenced because, the government is currently busy with the harmonization of data between the other Agencies and NIMC. He stressed that the beauty of that strategy will be that, for instance, as you are being registered for INEC, you are, automatically being registered for NIMC.
“We need to encourage the Agencies of government and that’s the beauty of what NITDA is doing, to implement solutions that allows technology to digitize a lot of these paper based approach that we have today”, Lanre stated. This, he further stressed, will enhance our ease of doing business. “We see government as one Agency and it is connected it is connected to one another because of the benefit of technology and it should be able to share information within itself, seamlessly. If you come into CAC to register a company, for instance, CAC at the backend, can talk to FIRS, can talk to, even, NIMC, can talk to whoever else they want to talk to”, he emphasized. Lanre stated that, a good policy will, is necessary for this to happen, but technology has to make it happen at the backend.
On what the government is doing, to ensure that Startups gets support from government, Lanre stated that he witnessed the growth of the Startups ecosystem and he is proud of it. Some of the efforts of government, he mentioned, include the launching of the Aso Villa Demo Day, where 30 top players emerged and have gone ahead to do big things. He also mentioned the World bank support that have grants to 80 of these Startups as a result of the Aso Villa Demo Day. “That means recognition. That is a means by which they can scale up”, he stressed. He stated that a lot of those Startups have gone on to Silicon Valley and Startup 500. He, however, observed that government should not be too much involved, but rather create policies and enabling environment that will support the Startups ecosystem.
Lanre concluded that, other things the government will focus on, are infrastructure as well as focus on getting the adoption of some of their solutions by the MDA’s and government for their usage.
You can view the full interview here and here
The Senate on Tuesday deplored what it described as violations of the principles of federal character in the appointments, recruitments and promotions in some key federal institutions and agencies.
Specifically, the upper legislative chamber fingered the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Pension Commission (PENCOM), the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) and several other Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) as culprits.
The matter was a subject of debate at plenary as Senator Osita Ngwu called the Senate’s attention to the alleged violations through a motion.
Ngwu’s motion, entitled “Urgent Need to Address Systemic Abuse and Ineffective Implementation of the Federal Character Principle in Nigeria’s Public Sector,” got the attention of the lawmakers.
Ngwu, who led the debate, cited Sections 14(3) and 14(4) of the 1999 Constitution, which explicitly prohibit the dominance of individuals from a few states or ethnic groups in federal institutions.
He observed that while recruitment opportunities are limited, promotions are often based solely on years of service rather than merit, leading to the continued marginalisation of certain regions.
According to him, the lack of accountability in enforcing federal character principles has compromised fairness in the public sector, with senior-level recruitments often influenced by cronyism instead of competence.
Ngwu further observed that while the federal capital principle aims to balance merit with equitable state representation, its poor implementation has negatively affected discipline, morale, and institutional efficiency.
According to him, “The federal character principle, entrenched in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, mandates fair representation in federal appointments to reflect the linguistic, ethnic, religious, and geographic diversity of the nation.”
He continued, “Section 14(3) and (4) of the Constitution unequivocally stipulate that ‘no predominance of persons from a few states or a few ethnic or sectional groups’ should exist within the federal government or its agencies.”
Ngwu listed the NNPCL and its subsidiaries, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), PENCOM, NDIC, the Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA), the National Library of Nigeria (NLN), the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), the Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN), the Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF), and the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA) as non comliant entities.
He accused them of consistently failing to adhere to federal character Mandates, and often bypassing regulations in their recruitment exercises.
Ngwu warned that unchecked violations of federal character laws would continue to erode the effectiveness of key legislative provisions.
He listed the affected legislative provions to include Section 14(d) & (e) of the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act, 2017, Part I(1)-(2) of the Subsidiary Legislation 23 of 1997, and Section 11(2) of the Freedom of Information Act, 2011.
He also raised concerns about the lack of independence of the Federal Character Commission (FCC).
Ngwu observed that despite the Commission’s constitutional mandate, it remains weakened by underfunding, political interference, and a lack of enforcement power.
While approving the probe of the affected entities, the Senate directed its Committee on Federal Character and Inter-Governmental Affairs to conduct investigative hearings into their activities.
The committee is expected to submit its findings within four weeks.
The Lagos State Police Command has arrested four bank employees over their alleged involvement in a sophisticated fraud and money laundering scheme that diverted over £138,924 (more than ₦270 million) from international airline accounts.
CSP Benjamin Hundeyin, command’s spokesperson, disclosed the arrests on Monday during a press briefing at the state police headquarters in Ikeja.
According to CSP Hundeyin, “The suspects conspired to siphon funds from domiciliary accounts into personal accounts before redistributing them to multiple destinations.
“The fraud was uncovered when the affected bank detected unauthorized transactions and alerted the police.”
Explaining further, the spokesperson said: “Subsequent investigations led to the arrest of the following suspects: Oluwatobiloba Olaleye, male, aged 27, was arrested on March 12, 2025, in Ogun State. A Toyota Camry 2012/2013, suspected to be a proceed of the crime, was recovered from him.
Oladunjoye Adegoke, male, aged 33, was arrested on March 13, 2025, in Victoria Island, Lagos. A Toyota Camry (Pencil Light), suspected to be another proceed of the stolen funds, was also recovered.
Further investigation led to the arrest of Austin Alfred, male, aged 38, the Supervisor of the Trade Services Department, and Jude Uzobuaku, male, aged 36, a processor in the same department. Both facilitated the illegal transfer of funds to foreign accounts.”
Police investigations revealed that the stolen funds were initially funneled into an account belonging to one of the suspects before being transferred to multiple other accounts, making it harder to trace. Authorities are now working to track down additional accomplices and recover the remaining funds.
“The suspects are in custody and will face prosecution as the investigation continues,” CSP Hundeyin stated.
Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) has announced a $15 million grant to support 3,000 budding entrepreneurs from 52 African countries.
Tony Elumelu, founder, TEF, made this known on Sunday in Abuja during the unveiling of the 2025 cohort of the foundation’s Entrepreneurship Programme.
He stated that each beneficiary would receive a $5,000 seed grant to kick-start their businesses.
Elumelu, who is also chairman of Heirs Holdings, Transcorp, and United Bank for Africa (UBA), reaffirmed his commitment to empowering African entrepreneurs and transforming the continent’s economic landscape.
According to Elumelu, the foundation aims to democratise opportunity across the continent, fostering economic growth and providing young Africans with access to funding and mentorship.
“We had a vision that started in 2010; one that envisions a self-sustaining Africa, driven by the energy, vision, and resilience of young entrepreneurs.
“We understand the challenges they face in contributing to Africa’s economic transformation.
“If empowered and encouraged, these young Africans can drive meaningful change,” he said.
He noted that capital alone was not enough, highlighting the importance of business education, mentorship, and training in building successful entrepreneurs.
The entrepreneurship programme, which began in 2015, originally set out to economically empower 10,000 young Africans over 10 years, each receiving $5,000 in seed capital.
“This year marks the 15th anniversary of the foundation, and we have made a considerable impact across all 54 African countries.
“In the 21st century, Africa does not need aid; what it needs is investment in its youth,” Elumelu said.
Somachi Chris-Asoluka, chief executive officer (CEO), TEF, noted that since the programme’s launch in 2015, the foundation had.disbursed over $100 million to more than 21,000 young entrepreneurs across Africa.
According to Chris-Asoluka, these businesses have collectively created 1.5 million enterprises, and generated $4.5 billion in revenue.
“Our entrepreneurs have demonstrated that ideas are the lifeblood of the African continent.
“For the 2025 cohort, we received over 200,000 applications, and from this pool, 3,000 entrepreneurs from 52 African countries will receive $15 million in funding.
“Each entrepreneur will receive a $5,000 non-refundable seed grant; this is neither a loan nor equity,” she stated.
She further assured that the foundation had a monitoring and evaluation platform in place to track progress after disbursement, ensuring that beneficiaries adhered to their approved business plans.
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