E-Business
NIMC Explains Reasons Behind New Digital Identity Ecosystem
Engr. Aliyu Aziz, Director-General of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), has said that the Federal Government launch of the new Digital Identity Ecosystem programme is to facilitate the collection of citizens’ biometric data nationwide within the shortest time possible.
Aziz gave the explanation in Abuja at the January, 2019 lunch time reform seminar organised by the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR).
“The purpose of the ecosystem approach is to leverage existing capabilities and enrolment facilities of government agencies, partners and private sector organisations in Nigeria, as opposed to building new ones,” Engr. Aziz explained.
This, he said, involves “coordinated efforts of all enrolment partners,” including all government agencies involved in biometric data collection as well as partners and companies in the private sector to be licensed by NIMC.
In his presentation titled “Reinventing Nigeria’s Digital Identity Ecosystem,” Engr. Aziz said with the approval by the Federal Executive Council of the National Roadmap on Identity Development in Nigeria, the NIMC Regulations 2017, ISO Certified and upgraded backend in place, “it’s now time to commence the implementation of the Mandatory usage of the National Identification Number (NIN).”
The new Digital Identity Ecosystem is a Federal Government-led initiative to collect biometric data nationwide in one-go by leveraging existing ecosystem of all government agencies including Federal, State and LGAs and the Private sector.
Engr. Aziz said the ecosystem approach of enrolment will constitute “trusted partners,” and a “pay-per-play model” to facilitate successful enrolments and fast-track the process nationwide.
“NIMC will facilitate collecting of identity data (biometric and demographic data) by also ensuring that partners collect data and are paid per successful enrolment. NIMC stores data and uses same to offer a Unique ID to the citizens and legal residents,” he said.
Emphasising the importance of the digital identity ecosystem, Engr. Aziz said: “As the Federal Government Agenda, we are all enjoined to work together as one Government (though many agencies) to achieve the ID objectives and bequeath a sustainable and credible system of identity to our nation and generations to come.
“Therefore, everyone, every sector (Public or Private) has a role to play – participate, partner, be compliant, champion the project, support the process and educate others on the importance of the initiative and how it can and must be achieved.”
According to the nation’s Chief Enrolment Officer, “there is a strong relationship or correlation between Identification and Reforms, both are central in realising effective delivery of important government services to the people.”
With the effective commencement, on January 1, 2019, of the mandatory usage of the NIN, all persons must, according to Section 27 of the NIMC Act 2007, present their NIN for the following transactions: Application for, and issuance of a passport; opening of individual and or personal bank accounts; purchase of insurance policies; subject to the provisions of the Land Use Act, the purchase, transfer and registration of land by any individual or any transaction connected therewith; such transactions pertaining to individuals as may be prescribed and regulated by the Pension Reform Act, 2004; such transactions specified under the Contributory Health Insurance Scheme.
- such transactions that have social security implications
- all consumer credit transactions
- Registration of voters
- Payment of taxes
- such relevant government services; and
- all other transactions which the Commission may so prescribe and list in the Federal Government Gazette.
Making further clarifications, Engr. Aziz said contrary to views and opinions held or expressed in some quarters, the mandatory usage of the NIN does not mean everyone must have been enrolled by January 1, 2019.
“What it means is that from January 1, 2019, to receive any of the above listed government services or others not immediately listed here, the agency offering the service must demand the NIN; and, where the individual has not previously been enrolled, the agency will immediately enrol such a person, send the data to NIMC and we then generate the NIN for the person.
“This is the essence of the ecosystem approach, which is meant to fast track the entire process, thereby ensuring that all persons are enrolled in one-go,” he clarified.
Visa, global payment services giant, has announced plans to establish a data centre infrastructure in Nigeria.
Andrew Torre, Visa’s regional president for central and eastern Europe and Vice-President Kashim Shettima
According to a statement by Stanley Nkwocha, senior special assistant to the president on media and communications (office of the vice-president) on Friday, Andrew Torre, Visa’s regional president for central and eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, spoke during a courtesy visit to Vice-President Kashim Shettima at the presidential villa in Abuja.
“This is in addition to its investments of over $1 billion in the country, including a substantial technological partnership with @moniepoint to foster digital payment solutions, a $200 million investment in Interswitch, and a partnership with @thriveagric to empower smallholder farmers and enhance food security in Nigeria,” the statement reads.
During the meeting, Torre said the plan to establish the data centre infrastructure aims to bring new technologies into the Nigerian market that would bolster the nation’s growing digital economy.
“Visa has been making investments and will continue to make these investments in Nigeria,” he said.
Responding, Shettima welcomed Visa’s expansion efforts, assuring the delegation that the partnership between Visa and the Nigerian government would continue to flourish.
The vice-president commended the company for investing in ThriveAgric, noting that President Bola Tinubu’s administration is deeply committed to repositioning the agriculture sector, which remains a top priority in its 8-point agenda.
“Nigeria is where the action is. Of the 10 fintechs in Africa, about eight are in Nigeria, with moniepoint as the newest addition,” Shettima said.
“Agriculture is key to the 8-point agenda of the present administration. President @officialABAT is really keen on repositioning the agriculture industry here, and we have to invest in technology, we have to invest in modernisation.”
On January 23, Moniepoint, a Nigerian fintech company, announced it secured investment from Visa to support the growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Andrew Torre, Visa’s regional president for central and eastern Europe and Vice-President Kashim Shettima
Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has approved N242.8m for the procurement of a Microsoft 365 licence for its Internal Revenue Service (FCT-IRS) as part of efforts to digitise the service’s operations.
Mr Michael Ango, acting executive chairman of FCT-IRS, disclosed this after the FCT Executive Committee meeting chaired by Mr Nyesom Wike, the minister of FCTA, in Abuja on Wednesday.
Ango said that the FCTA was making significant investments in technology to enhance revenue generation and collection.
“So, this is also one of those investments in technology that the FCT is undertaking.
“The licence, if procured, will enhance our ability to move most of our manual processes into automated processes.
“It will enhance our ability to communicate within our offices,” he said.
The executive chairman added that the move would also reduce the use of paper and ensure better record-keeping through the storage of information and documents in the cloud.
According to him, “The licence will essentially enhance our operations and assist us in generating revenue for the development of the FCT under Wike’s leadership.”
Rack Centre, West Africa’s Tier III Carrier and Cloud neutral data centre, has welcomed Olla Cloud Service, a new private cloud service by Olla Systems Limited, a leading provider of innovative technology solutions, to its facility.
Hosting at Rack Centre, Olla Cloud Service runs on a state-of-the-art, cloud-enabled infrastructure for enterprise applications across diverse platforms, including mission critical application, web applications as well as containerised applications using Kubernetes.
Lars Johannisson, CEO, Rack Centre, welcoming Olla Systems, noted that the partnership with Olla Systems Limited would reflect the company’s commitment to providing African businesses with high- quality cloud computing services.
He noted that Olla Systems would enjoy Rack Centre’s 13.5MW data centre campus facility, designed to meet the highest international standards and offering scalable solutions to Hyperscalers, Enterprises, and Cloud service providers.
As part of its commitment to sustainability, the facility is equipped with energy-efficient systems, advanced cooling technologies to mitigate environmental impact and an optimally-designed feature to handle high-density workloads with precision.
According to Johannisson, “With Olla Cloud Service hosting at Rack Centre, clients will experience fast performance and low latency, enabling businesses in Africa to access world-class cloud computing services within a secure and compliant local infrastructure.”
Also speaking, Olusola Adenuga, chief executive officer, Olla Systems Limited, expressed enthusiasm about hosting at Rack Centre, noting that Olla Cloud remains a groundbreaking private cloud solution for businesses.
While highlighting the benefits of the partnership between Rack Centre and Olla Systems, Adenuga disclosed that “subscribing to Olla Cloud Service is cost-effective to customers because of its local currency payment advantage.”
She also noted that the partnership between the duo, provides businesses the opportunity to meet regulatory requirements of data residency, while enjoying world-class infrastructure as a service (IaaS) locally.
“Other benefits of hosting with Olla Cloud include: 24/7 support, unparalleled performance, scalability and agility.” she added.
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