NIN: Communications Ministry gets more Digital Identification Unit

The Ecosystem Coordination Strategic Unit of the Digital Identification for Development Project in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation has been handed over to the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy.

Permanent Secretary of the communications ministry, Festus Daudu, said the new unit would further enable the government to coordinate, check and curb insecurity through the linkage of National Identity Numbers to Subscriber Identification Modules of individuals across the country.

Daudu said, “Every household has one form of contact or the other with a communication equipment that uses a SIM and with that, it will be easy to track down any criminal activity from any household or from any group or individuals.”

A statement issued on Wednesday by the communications ministry’s spokesperson, Phil Oshodin, stated that the permanent secretary welcomed the staff of the Ecosystem Coordination Strategic Unit to the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy.

The statement also stated that the Permanent Secretary, Political and Economic Affairs, Office of the SGF, Andrew Adejo, handed over the unit to the communications ministry in Abuja.

It stated that the project was being assisted by the World Bank, Agence France De Development and the European Investment Bank.

“The project is to increase the number of persons with a national ID number, issued by a robust and inclusive foundation ID system that facilitates access to service,” the ministry stated.

It said the Digital Identification for Development project was structured around four main components including to strengthen the system’s legal and institutional and regulatory framework.

Others include to establish an inclusive foundational ID system; support the harmonisation of existing functional ID system and the establishment of a digital foundation ID platform that issues a unique national identity number.

On his part, Adejo said the Federal Government had to move the National Identity Management Commission to the communications ministry in a bid to improve service delivery and reduce insecurity.