The National Identity Management Commission on Monday emphasised that the enrolment of all Nigerians into its data base will help to address security challenges in the country.
Abdul-Hamid Umar, the Deputy Director, Corporate Communication, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Abuja that the National Identity Management System would capture the identity of all Nigerians.
He also said it would help to clearly define and identify the status of all citizens.
The deputy director who did not give the take off date for the programme, however, said it would assist in identifying criminals and illegal immigrants with multiple identities hiding in the country.
He noted that the absence of accurate data in the country had hindered the effective administration of various poverty alleviation programmes of government.
“Government programmes fail to target the right category of people. But the national identification system will form the bedrock for identifying those eligible for the programme aimed at raising the beneficiary’s income level.''
He said the new numbers would also identify genuine farmers that would be eligible to benefit from government programmes on agriculture.
“Currently the tax system, criminal justice system, banking and financial system do not operate on real identities of people thereby making the various systems less productive and efficient,'' he noted. (NAN)