The Honorable Member representing Nembe Constituency 1 in the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Hon. Ebi Ben Ololo, has emphasized the importance of the National Identification Number (NIN) for social and economic inclusion for the public, most especially Bayelsans.

He made this known during a motion on the floor of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, on the need for the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to open more enrolment Centre’s across various wards in Bayelsa state to meet up to the population.

Hon. Ololo further highlighted the importance of the NIN as it is crucial in the lives of Nigerians and legal residents, being the unique identifier for all. He argued that it was important that the NIN be viewed the same way the social security number is regarded in the United States of America; as the National Insurance Number is valued in the United Kingdom, or the AADHAR number in India.

The lawmaker advised Bayelsans to present themselves for enrolment in their local Government areas to avoid the usual rush that may arise when enforcement of the mandatory use of the NIN for transactions and services as stipulated in Section 27 of the NIMC Act 2007 commences.

Furthermore, NIMC has assured that more enrolment Centre’s will be created to meet the World Bank standard of one registration Centre to 50,000 people with the commencement of the new Digital Identity Ecosystem in January 2019.

The Ecosystem is a sustainable system where any of the data collecting Government agencies or licensed private agency can enroll and capture data from Citizens and legal residents and send to the NIMC backend. This arrangement will be solely funded by the World Bank, European Union (EU) and Agence Française de Développement (AFD) a French developmental agency.

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