Onyemenam says @NIMC 'We’ve attained paradigm shift'

ITRealms:

The Director General/CEO of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) Barrister Chris Onyemenam, has said his team attained a paradigm shift with the successful setup and implementation of the National Identity Management Scheme (NIMS) in the country, reports ITRealms.

Onyemenam made this declaration in a chat with selected media over the weekend, saying that the value proposition that flows from the NIMS cuts across the three tiers of the government, the private sector, the family, and to the international society.

“If you take it by extension to the civil service generally, the concept of ghost workers or duplicate identities will be eliminated. No one can be in Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) more than once, because the individual will be traced through the biometrics and the National Identification Number (NIN),” he said.

The NIMC DG expressed confidence in the current setup of the scheme, revealing that the Commission activities is in tandem with global best practice, which says, “Uniquely identify every citizen and legal resident, in terms of ‘who you are’ and not what you are eligible to or what you can participate in like the Voter card, or what you are obliged to like Tax, or what you need like the driver’s license.”

Onyemenam explained that the ability to create a single version of truth will serve the entire country because the NIMS is a cross cutting platform. 

“If you don’t know people and they commit a crime, they can deny it. If someone is able to have more than one identity then they can benefit from their own acts of deception,” he said.

As said by him, nowadays, 419 is rampant because people could claim to be who they are not and still get away with it. 

“So in terms of fighting crime, what we have done with the NIMS is an important tool for law enforcement agencies to fight crime, corruption and/or ensuring that the war against corruption succeeds, because you can’t hide from yourself after having been identified by the Commission as a criminal,” Onyemenam said.

He emphasised that because it is from birth to death, NIMS provides the economic planners of the country that hardcore data about some of the social economic characteristics of citizens in a slightly more factual sense than what other organisation provides, for instance, “if you know the people in the age bracket 0-13 and you want to be able to feed them, you will use the uniqueness of the identity that has been given to them, to ensure that the benefit goes to them only.” 

The same, he said, applies to scholarships, bursaries, stipends to the unemployed, etc. this is the kind of benefit that the element of none repudiation and unique identification confirms on the administration of subsidies, special programmes, and general economic management or eceonomc governance in the country.   

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Court says PIN, PPDC can sue NIMC over non-disclosure of ID contract to MasterCard

ITRealms:

A Federal High Court in Abuja has granted two non-governmental organizations, Paradigm Initiative Nigeria (PIN) and Public and Private Development Centre (PPDC) the leave to challenge the refusal of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to provide them with the procurement records and details of the contract in a law court, ITRealms reports.

ITRealms recalls that the two NGOs are seeking information pertaining award of contract between the Commission and MasterCard for the payment solution contained in the new multipurpose national identity card.

ITRealms gathered that Justice Evoh Chukwu granted leave to the two organizations, following a motion exparte brought on their behalf by Mr. Terence Vembe, a member of the Network of Freedom of Information Lawyers.

In the suit filed against the NIMC; its Director-General, Mr. Chris Onyemenam; and the Attorney-General of the Federation, PIN and PPDC are seeking:
 

• A declaration that the failure and/or refusal of the NIMC and its Director-General to disclose or make available to them the information they requested by their letters dated September 4 and November 25, 2014 constitutes a violation of their right of access to information established and guaranteed by Sections 1(1) and 4 of the Freedom of Information Act, 2011;
• A declaration that the failure and/or refusal of the NIMC and its Director-General to disclose or make the information they requested available to them amounts to wrongful denial of access to information under Section 7(4) and (5) of the FOI Act;
• An order of mandamus compelling the NIMC and its Director-General to disclose or make available to them the procurement and Contract/Agreement records for the provision of payment solutions by MasterCard for the General Multipurpose Card, particularly all the information listed and requested by them in their letters of September 4 and November 25, 2014; and
•  An order of mandamus compelling the Attorney-General of the Federation to initiate and diligently prosecute criminal proceedings against the NIMC and its Director-General for the offence of wrongful denial of access to information pursuant to Section 7(5) of the FOI Act.

In the alternative, the organizations are asking for an order of mandamus compelling the Attorney-General of the Federation to grant them or any lawyer of their choice a fiat to initiate and prosecute criminal proceedings against the NIMC for the offence of wrongful denial of access to information.

 They are also claiming the sum of N1 million as exemplary and aggravated damages for the unlawful violation of their right of access to information.

 PIN and PPDC alleged in their suit that the NIMC and the Federal Government have formed a partnership with MasterCard under which they would impose a new identity card on every Nigerian and compel all Nigerians to participate in the financial services sector under the control of MasterCard, a foreign multinational financial services corporation headquartered in New York in the United States.

According to them, under the first phase of the programme, all Nigerians who are 16 years and older and all residents in Nigeria for more than two years will have imposed on them, the new multipurpose identity card which has 13 applications, including MasterCard’s prepaid payment technology that will impose electronic payments solutions on the card holders while the card is also expected to serve as voting card in Nigeria as early as the 2019 general elections.

PIN and PPDC are alleging that with the card, the Federal Government can terminate citizens’ and other card holders electronic financial lifelines if anything were to happen within the country, for example in the form of protests, economic downturns, insurrection, a war or if a financial institution such as MasterCard were to go bankrupt.

They also expressed the fear that there are many other reasons why the Federal Government or MasterCard can decide to turn off the electronic chip (RFID) of the card, which would render card holders stranded, especially with the existence of a powerful financial institution issuing payments electronically with a government that is supported and controlled by the United States, which would make unlimited control of the populace inevitable.

 After listening to the submissions of Mr. Vembe, lawyer to PIN and PPDC, at the hearing of the motion exparte on Monday, March 30, Justice Chukwu granted the organizations’ prayers for an extension of the time within which they could sue the NIMC and also granted them leave to apply for a judicial review of the NIMC’s refusal to provide them with the information they requested.

Justice Chukwu thereafter adjourned the proceedings to April 21, 2015 for hearing of the substantive suit.

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Pix L_R: Omokehinde Ojomuyide,Vice President & Area Business Head for West Africa, MasterCard, NIMC Director-General, Mr. Chris Onyemenam.

NIMC opens enrolment centre @NOA hdqters, Omire urges mass participation

ITRealms:

The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has opened an enrollment centre for National Identity Database and issued the National Identification Number (NIN) at the head office of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), reports ITRealms.

The Director, Corporate Communications at NIMC, Mr. Anthony Okwudiafor, confirmed this to ITRealms and quoted the Director General, National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mr Mike Omeri, as urging Nigerians to ensure that they are enrolled in the National Identity Database and got issued the National Identification Number (NIN).

 

Flagging off the exercise at the Enrolment Centre, NOA National Headquarters in Abuja, Mr. Omeri commended NIMC for deploying Enrolment equipment to the NOA office premises.

Mr. Omeri noted that with the current state of unrest in the country, the National Identity Management Systems (NIMS) project has become imperative, urging Nigerians to support and key into this project.

He invited all eligible Nigerians and applicants to get enrolled, pointing out that by creating a unique National database and means of identity verification and authentication will provide a platform for verifying people’s identity; which will in turn boost the national security and economic development.

“The collaboration between the two institutions is necessary and must be emulated by other organisations, as it abides by the Federal Government policy of recognising and keeping citizens identity records," he said.

Omeri also was quoted as commending the Director General/CEO of NIMC, Barrister Chris ‘E Onyemenam and staff for their hard work and diligence and restated his commitment to work in partnership with NIMC.

Equally speaking, NIMC director-general, Barrister Onyemenam expressed his gratitude to God and also thanked Mr. Omeri for his support and cooperation towards making the NIMC Mandate a reality.

He reiterated the importance of having an Identity Database and noted that the security challenges in the country were enough reasons for everyone to ensure that the Commissions Mandate is met. 

He also thanked the President, Goodluck Jonathan for his support towards the implementation of the NIMS project.

The NIMC DG added that the full list of all NIMC Enrolment Centres could be accessed on the website, www.nimc.gov.ng and enjoined applicants to log onto the NIMC pre-enrolment portal www.ninenrol.gov.ng to pre-enrol and then proceed to any NIMC Enrolment Centre for biometrics data capture.

Emphasising that the NOA Enrolment Centre is open to all NOA staff, staff of parastatals and to the general public.

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Photo: NIMC director-general, Barrister Onyemenam

NIMC sets up over 200 enrolment centres nationwide

ITRealms:

The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has established over two hundred new Enrolment Centres across the 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) reports ITRealms.

NIMC, ITRealms also gathered from the Deputy Director, Corporate Communications, Mr. Abdulhamid Umar has commenced enrolment exercises for the National Identification Number (NIN) in these Enrolment Centres in the last 10 weeks.

He quoted the Director of Operations, Mrs. Cecilia Yahaya as saying NIMC is committed to ensuring that the deployment of all enrolment infrastructures based on global best practices was done expeditiously to enable NIMC meet the Presidential directive of December 31, 2014.

She said some of the Enrolment Centres are located in the following Local Government Areas: Alimosho, Eti-Osa, Lekki, Agege, Army Barracks Ojo, Ipaja in Lagos state. Others are Akpabuyo, Odukpani, Biase, Ogoja, etc., in Cross River State; Gerei, Minchika, Song and Mayobelwa in Adamawa State; Nnewi North, Onisha North and South, Anoacha, and Ogbaru in Anambra State.

Other Centres are Kano Municipal, Madoni, Kura, Wudil, Gezawa Tarauni, in Kano State; Alkaleri, Dass, Toro, Katagun in Bauchi; Ivo, Ishilu, Izzi in Ebonyi State and others.

Mrs. Yahaya added that a number of Enrolment Centres have also been opened in more Tertiary Institutions nationwide; they include University of Ilorin, IBB University Lapai, FUTMinna Permanent and Temporary Campus, University of Benin, University of Calabar, Maritime Academy, Covenant University, Crawford University, University of Kastina, Kaduna Polytechnic, Federal Polytechnic Birnin Kebbi, Federal polytechnic Ibadan, Ladoke University of Tech, ABU Zaria.

She called on all eligible applicants to visit the NIMC website, www.nimc.gov.ng to see the full list of Enrolment Centres closest to them.

The Director of Operations, further explained that the deployment of these Enrolment Centres is to facilitate, as well as fast-track the enrolment of all Nigerians wherever they may reside; “with the deployment of these new enrolment centres, we now have close to four hundred Enrolment Centres nationwide; while about 50 others will be deployed in the next one month. These would no doubt fast-track enrolment,” she said.

“We have a target, we have expectations and we are moving at the fastest pace possible to enable us enrol as many eligible applicants as possible, subject to a very tight budgetary constraint of course,” she said.

Mrs. Yahaya noted that the Commission has captured the data of close to 3 million Nigerians, and hinted that the newly deployed Enrolment Centres would see aggressive attempts to grow the number of enrolments from 60,000 a day, to 100,000 a day.

She encouraged eligible applicants to take advantage of the NIMC pre-enrolment portal, www.ninenrol.gov.ng, to pre-enrol for the NIN, before proceeding to Enrolment Centre closest to them for biometrics data capture.

“Applicants are further advised to come along with a supporting document such as birth certificate, driver’s licence, International Passport, Voters Identity Card, etc., to complete enrolment and get the National Identification Number,” she said.

In addition, Director of Operations said that the scheme would help to protect Nigerians from identity theft and fraud by providing a simple, reliable, sustainable and universally acceptable means of confirming someone’s identity at all times.

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Photo: DG, NIMC, Barrister Chris Onyemenam.