FG Directs Banks To Issue National Identity Cards (NIN) To Nigerians

• The Nigerian Government has announced that citizens can now request debit cards from their commercial banks that also serve as national identity cards.

• This initiative was approved by the Federal Executive Council and aims to address the demand for physical identity cards.

• The banks will print the cards in partnership with the National Identity Management Commission. 

EKO HOT BLOG reports that the Nigerian Federal Government has announced that citizens can now request their commercial banks to issue them a debit card that also functions as their national identity card. Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof Isa Pantami, announced in Abuja that there will be no cost associated with issuing these cards.

Pantami revealed that the approval for this initiative was obtained during a meeting of the Federal Executive Council presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari.

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The approval was based on a memo from the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), which authorized banks to print multipurpose debit cards that could serve as national identity cards.

Explaining the concept, Pantami said, “It is going to be a form of the multipurpose card where it will serve as your national identity card on the one hand and also your bank card on the other hand, either Mastercard, Visa, or any other kind of card.”

While the NIMC Act 2007 mandates Nigerians to have a National Identity Number (NIN) and not necessarily a physical card, there has been a growing demand for cards. Pantami stated, “What is mandatory for our citizens and legal residents is acquiring the National Identity Number, not the card. However, the card is optional. But many citizens, particularly those in rural communities, always go to NIMC offices complaining that they need the card at hand, even though it’s optional.”

To address the challenges faced by rural communities, NIMC has partnered with the Central Bank of Nigeria to enable citizens to obtain cards easily by visiting relevant banks. The banks can print the card with a Mastercard or Visa card. Pantami emphasized that there would be no additional costs to citizens for this multipurpose card.

Regarding privacy and confidentiality, Pantami assured that NIMC and the Central Bank of Nigeria have signed a nondisclosure agreement to protect the personal information of card applicants. When an individual applies for a card at a bank, the bank will connect to the NIMC database to verify the person’s details. Once verified, the card will be printed immediately for the user.

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The Federal Executive Council also approved a proposal to deploy an automated system to integrate National Identity Numbers (NINs) with individual SIM cards.

This system aims to streamline the implementation of the NIN-SIM linkage policy, which has been in progress since February 2020. The automated system will enhance database sanitization and simplify the SIM replacement process for Nigerians and legal residents.

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