31st August, 2020
By Jessica Dogo
President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the transfer of National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy.
Minister ‘s spokesperson, Mrs Uwa Suleiman, on Monday in Abuja, said that the approval was part of efforts to ensure synergy and also coordination of Federal Government’s digital transformation initiatives.
She furthermore explained that the directive underscored Buhari’s vote of confidence on the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Pantami.
The NIMC is mandated to create, manage, maintain and operate the National Identity Database established by the NIMC Act, 2007.
So far, the agency has registered 41 million people and assigned them the National Identity Number (NIN).
The NIN, considered as a social security as well as civil number, is very important for economic planning and social intervention.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on the other hand has details of over 191 million mobile subscribers.
Under the ministry are National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and Galaxy Backbone.
They all need to work closely together under the supervision of one Ministry, she said.
NITDA had recorded huge successes in the development and implementation of the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR), the country’s first codified data protection regulation.
NITDA had also reached an advanced stage on the implementation of the National Public Key Infrastructure (NPKI).
Galaxy Backbone Limited (GBB) also provides services to Government Agencies-Infrastructure-as-a-Service, Platform-as-a-Service and Software-as-a-Service.