Fakoyejo OlalekanThe Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, said traditional rulers are needed for Nigerian government to increase National Identification Number (NIN) registration.
Pantami made this known on Friday at Nigeria’s fourth identity day in Abuja, where he revealed that almost 90 million citizens have been registered for the NIN by the Nigerian Identity Management Commission (NIMC).
He stated that the number of registered citizens was 40 million before the Nigerian Identity Management Commission was placed under Pantami’s ministry.
Despite the addition of about 50 million citizens added to the platform, Pantami hinted that challenges still persist, and there’s need to be mindful of the gaps remaining to be filled, “to ensure that every citizen of Nigeria and every legal resident in our country is enrolled and issued the NIN.” Pantami stated.
“Looking back from three years ago, the National Identity Management Commission had managed under challenging conditions, to achieve an enrollment figure of nearly 90 million enrollments for the country.” The minister said.
This is why the minister called for the support of traditional rulers to increase the number of registered citizens in the rural area across the country.
He said traditional rulers and their institutions play critical roles, “in mediating, stimulating, mobilising and rallying our people, in the rural, semi-urban and even urban areas, to embrace enrolment to obtain their NIN”.
Adding that, “While traditional rulers and our monarchs are the custodians of the traditional institutions in the homelands, all of us who are in the cities are from one rural area, one community or the other; and, our respect for our traditional rulers remains unshakeable.”
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