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The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has said that Nigerians will have to pay for the new multipurpose national identity card as government cannot afford to fund production.
According to Peter Iwegbu, head of card management services at NIMC, who spoke on Thursday at a two-day press conference in Lagos, the decision is based on the dwindling revenue of government.
The development has raised questions by some Nigerians on the rationale for the growing debts, if government is abdicating from its responsibilities, such as, basic necessities that the citizens would naturally depend on government.
However, Iwegbu says the Imposition was to ensure that it was produced for only those who needed it.
“Who determines what to use on accessing services at the government level and who should make them available. This is strange when government agencies tell the impoverished citizens that they would have to pay for cards that would enable them access governments services. More worrisome is when the commission is saying Nigerians would have to determine whether they need it or not, raising questions as to whether public services are now for the highest bidder, queries an analyst, wjo pleaded for anonymity.
Iwegbu said the decision was made to avoid repeating the mistake of the past efforts to issue physical cards to Nigerians for free, which many did not collect.
Iwegbu said over two million cards were produced in a previous attempt to issue free National ID cards by the NIMC, but many of them had not been collected to date.
“The government’s limited revenue is also a major factor in the decision to make Nigerians pay for the new ID card,” he said.
Iwegbu explained that the government could not fund the production of ID cards due to limited revenue.
Also speaking, Lanre Yusuf, director of information technology at NIMC, said the idea of a free national ID card did not turn out well in the past.
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Yusuf described the new ID card as a post-paid identity card, which means that individuals must need the card before initiating a request for it.
“To get the new national ID card, Nigerians will need to make a payment, select a pickup location, and then collect their card from the chosen location,” the director said.
“The government has implemented programmes to make the card accessible to the less privileged Nigerians who cannot afford it but require it to access government support.
“This initiative demonstrates the government’s commitment to inclusivity and equality.”
Yusuf also said the multipurpose ID cards are expected to launch soon, with sample test cards already received.
“The new national ID card is a multipurpose card that can serve the purpose of identity verification, payments, and even government services,” he said.
The federal government unveiled plans to launch a multipurpose national identity card in April.
The card, powered by AfriGO, is in partnership with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigeria Inter-bank Settlement System.
The card is enabled for all government intervention and services across multiple ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs).
Among other capabilities and functionalities, it will also be enabled for the eNaira in compliance with the EMV operational and security standards.
