The federal government has said it will invest in data harmonization to put a stop to multiple identity registration through the National Identity Management Commission(NIMC).
The government intentions were made known in Abuja yesterday by the Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo. This was while hosting a team from MTN management led by it’s Chief Executive Officer, CEO, Karl Toriola.
The minister emphasized that data harmonization is key to ending the era of multiple identity. He added that the success of the new development will start with NIMC which as an agency under the ministry, has the potential of re-writing the narrative where the country only has a single point of data entry.
“There is no need for us to have a BVN number, a voter’s number, an NIN, and a passport number all at once, and this is why we have to work with NIMC to ensure that we harmonise all these and do away with these duplications”, he said.
The merits of the data harmonization and the need for the country to have a tech-driven data-hub under the ministry was also addressed.
“We must have an interior hub. A massive data centre where we will have all our identity information documented,” he said.
“When we harmonize our data, there will be an exchange amongst agencies such that when our people need data for passport or BVN, with their NIN, their data can be pulled out. This will not only save us stress, cost and energy but also help us optimise our processes.”
“If NIMC performs well, NIS will perform better, and the police, NSCDC, and other agencies will perform admirably above par.” he added.
Dr. Tunji-Ojo also pinpointed the role of the private sector players, such as MTN, in achieving the vision towards the harmonization of data, saying “And to do that, there must be a way to inject private partnerships to help us achieve our objectives”.
“For us, we are open to partnerships from private sector players, as NIMC may not have the full financial capacity to fulfil the ambition”, he said in a communique signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Alao Babatunde.
