President Buhari on Thursday said the registration of the National Identity Number and linking it to mobile numbers will help fight insecurity in the country.
A statement by the president’s spokesperson, Femi Adesina, said Mr Buhari said this while launching the National Policy for the Promotion of Indigenous Content in Nigerian Telecoms Sector and Revised National Identity Policy for SIM Cards registration.
He said proper identification of all Nigerians and legal residents in the country and ability to conveniently access a database will enhance effective planning and security oversight.
“The NIN will cover one of the weaknesses in our security structure. We will be able to easily identify and know the personality of Nigerians. We will identify people easily, including the crooks,’’ he said.
The Nigerian government began the NIN-SIM linkage in 2020, with a directive to telecoms to block unlinked numbers in December 2020.
Currently, 190 million numbers have been linked to 54 million NINs.
Mr Buhari advised Nigerians to fully participate in the ongoing synchronization of NIN with SIM cards across the country as it will provide a digital framework for improving security and strengthening of the economy.
“The National Identification Number is the foundational digital ID for the country; both Nigerian citizens and legal residents are expected to obtain the NIN. It will provide access to government services and will give government useful insights that will enable us to utilize scarce resources in a more efficient way,’’ he added.
