NIMC Commences SMS Alerts, Issuance of e-ID Card

The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has again pleaded with Nigerians for more patience with the registration and issuance of the new e-ID Card, even as it commences SMS alerts informing registrants about the availability of the card.

On August 28, the Nigerian National Electronic Identity Card (e-ID Card) was unveiled and the card issuance process formally kicked off with the aim, to issue and to manage over 120 million e-ID Cards within the next five to ten years.

However, most Nigerians were kept in the dark on the processes for collection.

But, the Commission seeking public indulgence when Senator David Mark, senate president and Senator Ike Ekweremadu, his Deputy were issued their National e-ID Card at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja, said, “We would like to inform the public that we have commenced SMS alerts to Nigerians and legal residents who have enrolled and have their National Identification Numbers (NIN).

“If you get an SMS from NIMC, please proceed to the card collection center mentioned in the SMS with your NIN slip for biometric verification and card collection. We will eventually issue cards to EVERYONE who has enrolled, it is a core deliverable for the Commission.

NIMC had also closed the NIN Enrolment Centres to nationwide for Systems Upgrade

The NIMC Enrolment Centres nationwide were temporarily suspended from Friday, December 12, 2014 to Thursday December 18th, 2014.

The Commissions said that the measure was to enable it carry out a planned system upgrade that will enhance service delivery.

Regular enrolment services have since resumed nationwide on Friday December 19th, 2014.

Barrister Chris Onyemenam, director general of the Comission had at different fora said that, the e-ID card, the third in a five-component NIMS infrastructure, remains what most Nigerians (want to) see as the index of success of the project.

Accordint to him, “Indeed, there are those who, for good reason, believe that NIMC represents another bogus effort by government at addressing a simple problem, claiming that there is nothing “reformatory” in the statutory mandate of the NIMC (Act 23 of 2007).

“That is not important. As one critic put it recently, it is not the number of enrolment centres or the level of automation of the registration process or the quantity of hardware and software assembled and or deployed that matters. It is not about the conducive enrolment environment or the fact that you can go and register at your convenience, within minutes and at a known location.

“No, these things do not matter at all, otherwise, there would not still be new biometric projects springing up each day! Even the private sector partners of NIMC are quick to criticise the NIMC effort to justify their promotion of new or similar and competing projects that are subsequently contracted to them. What a paradox!

“What matters, and I agree perfectly, is how many Nigerians have been or can be expeditiously enrolled under the NIMS; how many Nigerians hold or can have their e-ID card, and how soon or when, how many Nigerians can benefit from the “proof of identity” services, a component of the NIMS infrastructure. How safe, unique, accessible to other MDAs and the private sector is the National Identity Database and the multiple applications on the e-ID card.

“Indeed, how soon can the law enforcement agencies begin to use the NIMS to fight crime and insecurity? Can we sustain the NIMS? How will NIMS stop the proliferation of data capture activities and meet the identity authentication and verification needs of MDAs and the private sector? These are some of the indices of success that should matter,” the DG explained.