By The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has revealed that Nigerians will have to pay for the new multipurpose national Identity card due to limited government revenue and to ensure that it is produced for only those who need it.
According to Dr. Peter Iwegbu, Head of Card Management Services at NIMC, the decision was made to avoid repeating the mistake of the past efforts to issue physical cards to Nigerians for free, which many Nigerians did not collect.
Iwegbu revealed that over two million cards were produced in the previous attempt to issue free National ID cards by the NIMC, but many of them were uncollected to date.
The government’s limited revenue is also a major factor in the decision to make Nigerians pay for the new ID card. Iwegbu explained that the government cannot fund the production of ID cards this time around.
Corroborating Iwegbu, the Director of IT at NIMC, Engr. Lanre Yusuf, said the idea of a free national ID card did not turn out well in the past, as many people abandoned the cards.
Yusuf explained that the new ID card is a post-paid identity card, which means that individuals must need the card before initiating a request for it. “You make a payment, choose where you want to collect the card, and you go and pick it up,” he said.
Iwegbu noted that the government has different programs to make the card available to less-privileged Nigerians who may not be able to pay for the card but need it to access government support.
The multipurpose cards are expected to be launched in a matter of weeks, as the sample test cards have been received. Iwegbu said NIMC has decentralized requesting and collecting the banks to make it easy for Nigerians.
NIMC is working with banks across the country, which will make it possible for people to walk into any bank closest to them and request the card.
The new national ID card is a multipurpose card that can serve the purpose of identity verification, payments, and even government services. The card is powered by AfriGO and was launched in partnership with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigeria Inter-bank Settlement System (NIBSS).
The card will be enabled for all government intervention and services across multiple Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDA). It will also be enabled for the eNaira in compliance with the EMV operational and security standards.
